Pain Treatment Strategy and Readmission Rates for Medicare Beneficiaries Post-Acute Ischemic Stroke.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Stroke is highly prevalent and commonly presents with pain. Primary care providers generally manage follow-up care, although ideal pain management strategies remain unclear. Treatment options include gabapentinoids, tricyclic antidepressants, and various antiseizure medications. We aim to analyze differences in hospital readmissions, a quality metric, for those initiating gabapentin in contrast to other medicines for post-stroke pain in older adults.

Methods

In this matched cohort study, we analyzed a 20% sample of U.S. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) between December 31, 2016, and December 31, 2021, who were discharged home. Individuals met insurance coverage criteria and did not take pain medications before hospi

SUBMITTER: Sankaranarayanan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12486021 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature