Comorbid opioid use disorder and resource utilization outcomes in patients with neoplasm-related pain: A population analysis.

Abstract

11040 Background: Neoplasm-related pain (NRP) is one of the most debilitating sequalae of cancer, affecting patients’ (pts) quality of life. Its intersection with opioid use disorder (OUD) adds a layer of complexity to patient care in the United States (US). As the prevalence of both conditions continues to increase, understanding the association between OUD and NRP becomes important. This study aimed to shed light on this intricate relationship by examining outcomes in resource utilization among OUD pts with NRP. Methods: We analyzed weighted data from the 2016-2020 iterations of the National Inpatient Sample database. We included pts 18 years or older with a principal discharge diagnosis of NRP with or without a secondary diagnosis of OUD. The main outcomes for the study were length of stay (LOS) and total hospitalization charges (THC) adjusted for inflation using the Medicare Hospital Consumer Price Index. Baseline sociodemographic and hospital characteristics as well as comorbidities of patients with and without OUD were compared using χ2 for categorical variables and Student’s t-test for continuous variables. Multivariable Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between comorbid OUD and resource utilization among NRP hospitalizations. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: There were 120,359 hospitalizations for NRP between 2016 and 2020. Among patients hospitalized for NRP, 3335 (2.78%) had a secondary diagnosis of OUD. The mean age of NRP pts was 60 years. Compared to patients without OUD, OUD pts were male (50.67% vs 45.47%; p = 0.0086), younger (mean age 56 vs 60 years; p<0.0001), more likely to be on Medicaid (37.48% vs 21.00%; p <0.0001) and hospitalized in urban hospitals (94.6% vs 91.37%; p = 0.0040). On multivariable linear regression, OUD was associated with an increased LOS by 0.93 days compared to non-OUD patients (95% CI: 0.265 – 1.600; p = 0.006), as well as increased THC by $9248 (95% CI: 1676.00 – 16820.41; p = 0.017) after adjusting for sociodemographic and hospital covariates. Conclusions: Our study highlights an increased resource utilization among pts with NRP and comorbid OUD. We surmise this could be due to increased tolerance to and dependence on the effects of opioids requiring more intricate multidisciplinary care in managing their pain. Recognizing this association is important for medical oncologists and other health care providers when managing NRP pts with OUD. Incorporating multimodality pain management early on admission could improve patient outcomes while optimizing healthcare resources.