ArticlePain and therapy2026
Economic and Treatment Burden of Chronic Low-Back Pain Patients Transitioning from Short-Acting to Long-Acting Opioids or Buprenorphine Buccal Film: US Claims Analysis.
Article in Pain and therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionThis study aimed to assess economic burden and treatment characteristics of patients with chronic low-back pain (cLBP) transitioning from oral Schedule II (CII) short-acting opioids (SAO) to oral CII long-acting opioids (LAO) or Belbuca
methodsMerative MarketScan
resultsStudy sample had 964 patients per cohort. Despite higher prescription costs in BBF ($10,417 vs. $8238, p = 0.007), total and cLBP-related costs were similar. BBF had fewer outpatient visits (33.1 vs. 35.4, p = 0.038), hospitalizations (0.2 vs. 0.3, p = 0.041), cLBP-related hospitalizations (0.04 vs. 0.08, p = 0.013), and shorter cLBP-related hospital stay (0.14 vs. 0.33 days, p = 0.023). BBF also had fewer patients with ED visits (36.9% vs. 41.6%, p = 0.036) and cLBP-related hospitalizations (3.5% vs. 6.1%, p = 0.008). Adherence and treatment duration between cohorts were similar, with fewer prescriptions in BBF (5.8 vs. 6.5, p = 0.003). Trends showed BBF had greater decreases in SAO treatment duration (- 15.4 vs. - 2.2 days, p < 0.001), prescription counts (- 0.9 vs. - 0.3, p < 0.001), and daily morphine milligram equivalents (- 9.7 vs. - 6.1, p = 0.015). However, more BBF-treated patients had buprenorphine patches (8.2% vs. 3.3%, p < 0.001) with more patch prescriptions (0.3 vs. 0.1, p < 0.001) and longer treatment duration (8.9 vs. 2.6 days, p < 0.001).
conclusionStudy findings demonstrated similar healthcare expenditures between patients with cLBP transitioning from SAO to BBF and to LAO. Yet, initiating BBF may have lowered healthcare resource utilization and decreased further SAO utilization.
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