Opioid Use Associated With Higher Costs Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Health Economics
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Opioid use among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with adverse health outcomes.
• This study examines socioeconomic factors, healthcare utilization, and costs in IBD patients based on opioid prescription duration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the relationship between opioid use duration and healthcare resource utilization and costs in IBD patients.
• To identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with different levels of opioid use in IBD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Cost of IBD Care Optum research database (2007-2016) for patients with continuous enrollment.
• Categorized patients into no opioid use, acute (0-30 days), moderate (31-90 days), and chronic (>90 days) opioid use groups.
• Assessed associations between costs, patient characteristics, and opioid use duration.

Main Results:

• Chronic opioid users were more likely to be white, have lower education, lower income, and Medicare insurance.
• Pain diagnoses increased with opioid prescription length.
• All opioid use groups showed higher emergency department visits and hospitalizations compared to the no-use group.
• Healthcare costs (ambulatory, emergency, inpatient, total) were significantly higher across all opioid use groups.

Conclusions:

• Increasing opioid use in IBD patients is associated with greater healthcare resource utilization.
• Higher healthcare costs are concomitantly observed with increased opioid prescription duration in IBD patients.