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Table 2 Prescription pain medication treatment patterns in the “any pain medication” cohort a

From: Patient characteristics, pain treatment patterns, and incidence of total joint replacement in a US population with osteoarthritis

Treatment pattern

n (%)

Historic use of prescription pain medication prior to index date b

 NSAID

906 909 (45.5)

 Opioid

1 248 379 (62.6)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid

497 987 (25.0)

Index pain medication c

 NSAID

596 624 (29.9)

 Opioid

1 161 806 (58.3)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid

323 459 (16.2)

Multiple pain medications at index

 NSAID and opioid

71 632 (3.6)

 NSAID and intra-articular corticosteroid

13 278 (0.7)

 Opioid and intra-articular corticosteroid

6286 (0.3)

 NSAID, opioid, and intra-articular corticosteroid

830 (0.0)

Subsequent pain medication dispensing within 7 days after index date

 NSAID followed by an opioid

22 397 (1.1)

 NSAID followed by an intra-articular corticosteroid

3924 (0.2)

 NSAID followed by an opioid and an intra-articular corticosteroid

357 (0.0)

 Opioid followed by an NSAID

18 944 (1.0)

 Opioid followed by an intra-articular corticosteroid

6383 (0.3)

 Opioid followed by an NSAID and an intra-articular corticosteroid

456 (0.0)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an NSAID

4505 (0.2)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an opioid

5370 (0.3)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an NSAID and an opioid

469 (0.0)

Subsequent pain medication dispensing at any time after index date

 NSAID followed by an opioid

342 430 (17.2)

 NSAID followed by an intra-articular corticosteroid

147 301 (7.4)

 NSAID followed by an opioid and an intra-articular corticosteroid

116 274 (5.8)

 Opioid followed by an NSAID

409 829 (20.6)

 Opioid followed by an intra-articular corticosteroid

259 299 (13.0)

 Opioid followed by an NSAID and an intra-articular corticosteroid

147 148 (7.4)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an NSAID

96 477 (4.8)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an opioid

154 120 (7.7)

 Intra-articular corticosteroid followed by an NSAID and an opioid

72 840 (3.7)

  1. NSAID non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
  2. aN = 1 992 670
  3. bHistoric use included patients with > 1 dispensing of pain medication use prior to the index date that did not meet the other inclusion criteria for index pain medication exposure, most notably the requirement to have a 365-day baseline history period prior to the index date
  4. cIndex pain medication represents the first qualifying dispensing of any pain medication including NSAIDs, opioids, and intra-articular corticosteroids during the study period
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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