title: Healthcare utilization in people with postherpetic neuralgia and painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine and compare healthcare utilization and costs for younger and older adults with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inpatient and outpatient care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with PHN or painful DPN were selected from administrative databases of healthcare claims and matched to controls who had a diagnosis of herpes zoster without persistent pain or a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus without neurological complications using propensity scores for demographic and clinical factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Excess per-person utilization and costs attributable to PHN and painful DPN were calculated for diagnostic procedures, medications, and interventional treatments related to neuropathic pain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, the patterns of significant excess per-patient utilization and excess per-patient costs were similar for diagnostic procedures, medications, and interventional treatments, but patterns of utilization and costs of these procedures and treatments differed depending on age and the specific condition examined.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results contribute to and expand current knowledge of the excess healthcare usage and costs of two prevalent peripheral neuropathic pain conditions and can be used in future studies of the cost-effectiveness of treatment and preventive interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA. robert_dworkin@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Dworkin
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Panarites
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.forename: Sissi V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Pham
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015897:Comorbidity; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051474:Neuralgia, Postherpetic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric