| Abstract: | AbstractObjectives:To compare demographic and comorbidity profiles and healthcare costs of Medicaid patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) treated with lidocaine patch 5% (lidocaine patch) versus patients not treated with the lidocaine patch. Repeat comparison for the subset of patients treated in long-term care (LTC) settings.Methods:Patients, age ≥18 years, with PHN diagnosis, or PHN-likely patients with herpes zoster diagnosis and ≥30 days of PHN-recommended treatment, were identified in Medicaid claims from Florida, Iowa, Missouri, and New Jersey (1999–2007). Patients had continuous eligibility 6 months before (baseline) and 12 months after (study period) the PHN index date. Patients with ≥1 claim for a lidocaine patch during the study period (n?=?872) were compared to patients without a lidocaine patch claim (comparison group). Baseline characteristics, study period treatment and healthcare costs (reimbursements by Medicaid for medical services and prescription drugs) were compared between groups using univariate analyses.Results:PHN patients in the lidocaine patch group were older (64.5 vs. 62.2 years; p?=?0.002) and had higher rates of pain-related comorbidities (e.g., back/neck pain, osteoarthritis) than comparison patients. Average PHN-related drug costs per patient were higher ($1994 vs. 1137; p?p?=?0.1348). No significant differences were found in total healthcare costs ($20,175 vs. 19,124; p?=?0.3720) across groups, despite higher total prescription drug costs among lidocaine patch patients. A similar pattern was observed among LTC patients.Conclusions:Despite higher rates of comorbidities and prescription drug costs, lidocaine patch patients had similar study period healthcare costs as comparison patients. The cost of the lidocaine patch represented a small fraction of overall costs incurred over the study period.Limitations:Findings are based on a Medicaid sample and may not be generalizable to all PHN patients. |
