Repeat procedures and prescription opioid use after lumbar medial branch nerve radiofrequency ablation in commercially insured patients.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Although the effectiveness of medial branch nerve radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for lumbosacral facet pain has been described, little is known regarding patterns of repeat RFA utilization and prescription opioid use afterward.

Design

Retrospective cohort analysis.

Patient sample

Patients undergoing lumbosacral RFA in MarketScan from 2007 to 2016.

Methods

The time until and number of staged RFAs (<180 days after initial RFA) and repeat RFAs (≥180 days after initial RFA), as well as opioid use at 90 and 180 days after RFA were assessed. Survival analyses were employed to estimate subsequent RFA rates, whereas subsequent RFA frequencies were estimated with inverse probability weighting. Repeated measures testing was performed comparing opioid use pre- and

SUBMITTER: Starr JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7060813 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature