Inpatient opioid receipt and care experiences for vaginal delivery

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationship between care experiences and inpatient opioid receipt during and after delivery for women hospitalized for vaginal delivery (VD).

STUDY DESIGN

We used a pooled cross-sectional design with inverse probability weighting to examine the association between inpatient opioid receipt and care experiences of women hospitalized for VD at a single health care system in a Midwestern state. We used 4 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores (2 pain care items and 2 global items) as measures of care experiences of women hospitalized for VD.

METHODS

We used 4 inverse probability-weighted logit regressions to estimate the relationship between inpatient opioid receipt and each patient care experience measure. In supplementary analyses, we used the same inverse probability-weighted methods to estimate the relationship between receipt of opioids and patient care experience measures in 3 patient subgroups based on mean patient-reported pain score during hospitalization (no pain, mild pain, moderate pain).

RESULTS

We found no relationship between inpatient opioid receipt and inpatient pain care experiences. As an exception, we found that women hospitalized for VD were 5 (95% CI, 2-8) percentage points more likely to rate the hospital as 10 ("the best hospital possible") during hospitalizations in which an opioid was received. We also found higher overall ratings of the hospital among hospitalized women who reported mild pain if they received an opioid (marginal effects = 0.05; 95% CI, 2-8 percentage points).

CONCLUSIONS

Receipt of opioids may not be a significant determinant of the pain-specific patient care experiences of women hospitalized for VD.

A Mobile and Web-Based Self-Directed Complementary and Integrative Health Program for Veterans and Their Partners (Mission Reconnect): Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Complementary and integrative health (CIH) is a viable solution to PTSD and chronic pain. Many veterans believe CIH can be performed only by licensed professionals in a health care setting. Health information technology can bring effective CIH to veterans and their partners.

Objective

This paper describes the rationale, design, and methods of the Mission Reconnect protocol to deliver mobile and Web-based complementary and integrative health programs to veterans and their partners (eg, spouse, significant other, caregiver, or family member).

Methods

This three-site, 4-year mixed-methods randomized controlled trial uses a wait-list control to determine the effects of mobile and Web-based CIH programs for veterans and their partners, or dyads. The study will use two arms (ie, treatment intervention arm and wait-list control arm) in a clinical sample of veterans with comorbid pain and posttraumatic stress disorder, and their partners. The study will evaluate the effectiveness and perceived value of the Mission Reconnect program in relation to physical and psychological symptoms, global health, and social outcomes.

Results

Funding for the study began in November 2018, and we are currently in the process of recruitment screening and data randomization for the study. Primary data collection will begin in May 2019 and continue through May 2021. Projected participants per site will be 76 partners/dyads, for a total of 456 study participants. Anticipated study results will be published in November 2022.

Conclusions

This work highlights innovative delivery of CIH to veterans and their partners for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03593772; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03593772 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/77Q2giwtw)

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/13666

Relationship between preoperative patient-reported outcomes and hospital length of stay: a prospective cohort study of general surgery patients in Vancouver, Canada

OBJECTIVES

As an aging population drives more demand for elective inpatient surgery, one approach to reducing length of stay is enhanced evaluation of patients' preoperative health status. The objective of this research was to determine whether patient-reported outcome measures collected preoperatively can identify patients at risk for longer lengths of stay.

METHODS

This study was based on a prospectively recruited cohort of patients who were scheduled for elective inpatient general surgery in Vancouver, Canada. All participants completed a number of patient-reported outcome measures preoperatively, including the EQ-5D for general health status, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression, and the pain intensity (P), interference with enjoyment of life (E), and interference with general activity (G), known as the PEG, for pain. Patient-reported outcome data were linked to hospital discharge summaries. Multivariate regression was performed to estimate risk of longer lengths of stay, adjusting for patient and clinical characteristics. The primary outcome was length of stay and its associated cost. Data collection took place between October 2012 and November 2016.

RESULTS

Participation among the population of 2307 eligible patients was 50.5%, providing 1165 participants. Preoperative patient-reported outcomes were not concordant with hospital reported diagnoses of depression or pain. Patients' preoperative depression and pain scores were independently positively associated with longer length of stay after adjusting for patient-level characteristics. Patients whose PHQ-9 score was 10, representing clinically significant depression, were estimated to have a 1.53 day longer hospitalization, which was associated with an estimated incremental hospital cost of $1667.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative self-reported assessment of depression and pain can assist with identifying patients at higher risk of longer lengths of stay. Patient's self-reported preoperative measures of depression and pain should be incorporated into patient pathways. They provide opportunities for improving management of general surgery patients and possibly play a role in aligning hospital funding with patients' needs.

Stepped Care for Affective Disorders and Musculoskeletal Pain (SCAMP) study: design and practical implications of an intervention for comorbid pain and depression

OBJECTIVE

Depression and pain are common comorbid conditions that have reciprocal adverse effects on disability and treatment outcomes. The objective of this article is to describe a study that tests the effectiveness of a stepped-care approach using a combined medication-behavioral intervention.

METHOD

Stepped Care for Affective Disorders and Musculoskeletal Pain (SCAMP) is an NIMH-sponsored randomized clinical trial nested within a prospective cohort study. A total of 250 patients with clinically significant depression (PHQ-9 scores > or =10) and musculoskeletal pain of the lower back or legs (hip or knee) and 250 nondepressed patients with similar pain are enrolled, with baseline and serial follow-up assessments to be conducted over 12 months. The depressed patients are randomized to either a stepped-care intervention group or a usual-care control group. Stepped-care patients receive 12 weeks of optimized antidepressant management (Step 1) followed by six sessions of a pain self-management (PSM) program over the next 12 weeks (Step 2), all delivered by a nurse care manager who is supervised by a physician specialist. Approximately two thirds of the care manager contacts are by telephone.

RESULTS

The target sample of 500 subjects has been successfully enrolled, and randomization of the depressed patients has resulted in balanced groups of patients with moderately severe pain and depression. Mean SCL-20 depression severity in the clinical trial group is 1.9, with most meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression (76.3%) and the rest having dysthymia only (18.4%) or minor depression (5.3%). Pain is about equally distributed between lower back (53%) and hip or knee (47%). A rational algorithmic approach to antidepressant selection and dosing, as well as an overview of the PSM program, is provided.

CONCLUSIONS

When completed, SCAMP will test whether optimized antidepressant management improves outcomes in patients with comorbid depression and pain and whether PSM produces additional benefits. The findings will be important for both primary care and mental health clinicians confronted by the prevalent depression-pain dyad.