Economic Burden of Treating Chronic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain in the United States: National Estimates From 2022 Data

OBJECTIVES: Chronic conditions, such as peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP), are associated with high degrees of healthcare resource utilization (HCRU). Literature evaluating the economic burden of PNP in the United States (US) is limited. We sought to examine HCRU and associated costs of treating people with PNP using prescription pain medications.

METHODS: Using the Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Medicare Supplemental Databases [1/1/2022-12/31/2022 (“study period”)], patients aged ≥18 years receiving ≥1 prescription for pain medication were classified as experiencing chronic pain if they received ≥90 total days’ supply of prescription pain medication. Within this cohort, PNP patients were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis codes. All-cause HCRU and associated costs were evaluated over the study period, as well as costs excluding direct surgical procedure costs. Costs were extrapolated to national-level estimates using standardized statistical techniques.

RESULTS: Among the 1,159,539 chronic pain patients identified, one-third had ≥1 chronic PNP condition (33.3%, N=386,393). Higher HCRU and total annual all-cause healthcare costs were observed among patients with PNP ($32,386/patient) as compared to chronic pain patients without PNP ($19,367/patient). Among individuals diagnosed with PNP, the subgroup receiving opioid prescriptions was found to have greater than two-fold higher annual costs ($43,874/patient) than the subgroup not receiving opioids ($18,821/patient).

National extrapolation revealed that the total annual economic burden of managing patients with chronic pain was $725 billion (B). For chronic PNP patients, the total annual economic burden was $348 B and $206 B when direct surgical costs were excluded.

CONCLUSIONS: Among all individuals identified with chronic pain, one-third were patients with PNP and accounted for approximately 50% of total annual costs for all chronic pain patients. These results highlight the economic burden associated with PNP on the US healthcare system.