Longitudinal pattern of pain medication utilization in peripheral neuropathy patients

We aimed to investigate the pattern and utilization of neuropathic pain medications in peripheral neuropathy patients. Using a privately insured, health care claims database from 2001 to 2014, we identified a retrospective cohort of incident peripheral neuropathy patients (validated ICD-9 definition) after excluding other chronic pain conditions. Outcome measures included opioid prescriptions, chronic opioid therapy (greater than or equal to 90 days of continuous supply), guideline-recommended medications for painful peripheral neuropathy (serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and gabapentinoids), and pain specialists (neurologists, physiatrists, and anesthesiologists). Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of patient-level factors with these outcomes. The peripheral neuropathy population included 14,426 individuals with a mean (SD) age of 43.1 years (2.8) and 52.4% men followed for 3.1 (1.7) years before and 4.5 (1.4) years after the diagnosis. In this population, 65.9% received ≥1 opioid prescription, and 8.8% received chronic opioid therapy. Of those receiving chronic opioid therapy, only 26.4% received a guideline-recommended medication before chronic opioid status. For guideline-recommended medications, 35.7% received ≥1, 12.4% ≥2, and 3.8% ≥3 different medications. No patient-level factors were associated with both high opioid utilization (initiation and chronic use) and low guideline-recommended medication utilization. Pain specialists were associated with high opioid utilization and high guideline-recommended medication utilization. In conclusion, opioid initiation and transition to chronic opioid therapy are frequent in a peripheral neuropathy population despite few patients receiving more than one guideline-recommended medication. Efforts to decrease opioid utilization and increase guideline-recommended medication use are needed to improve current neuropathic pain treatment.