• Alexander Chye, LinChung-Wei ChristineCC0000-0001-6192-7238The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney, Australia.Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Mark J Hancock, Ian Harris, Jane Latimer, Christopher G Maher, Andrew J McLachlan, Stephanie Mathieson, Bart Koes, Richard O Day, Laurent Billot, Stephen Jan, and Blake Angell.
• The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Level 5, 1 King Street, Newtown, Sydney, 2041, Australia. achye@georgeinstitute.org.au.
• Eur Spine J. 2021 Apr 1; 30 (4): 878-885.

PurposeTo estimate the healthcare resource utilisation of an Australian cohort of people with sciatica and explore individual-level factors associated with expenditure.MethodsHealthcare utilisation (services and medication) data from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pregabalin in patients with sciatica (n = 185) were analysed to estimate healthcare expenditure of participants over 12 months. Associations between key baseline socio-economic, pain and quality of life characteristics and healthcare expenditure were examined using generalised linear imputation models.ResultsOn average, participants accessed AUD$1,134 of healthcare over the year, predominantly made up of $114 of medication and $914 of health services, which included $418 of physiotherapy services. Participants randomised to receive pregabalin incurred higher expenditure ($1,263 compared to $1,001 for placebo), which was largely driven by pregabalin ($158) and greater health services ($107). Healthcare expenditure was significantly higher for participants prescribed pregabalin, earning greater than $1,700 per week ($88,400 per year) and reporting poorer quality of life (physical and mental).ConclusionOur results suggest inefficiency in the use of healthcare resources due to increased healthcare resource utilisation in people with sciatica treated with pregabalin, compared to placebo. Costs of treating sciatica varied based on individual quality of life and socio-economic characteristics.

10 keywords...

hide…