Dworkin Robert H, White Richard, O'Connor Alec B, Hawkins Kevin
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
Pain Med. 2008 Apr;9(3):348-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2006.00196.x.
Pain can persist long after the resolution of herpes zoster, but little is known regarding its health care costs. The objective of this study was to determine the health care expenditures associated with persisting pain following herpes zoster by comparing expenditures for patients with postherpetic neuralgia or subacute herpetic neuralgia with a control group without these conditions.
Health care expenditures attributable to persisting pain in herpes zoster patients were calculated using Thomson-Medstat's MarketScan databases to examine commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid claims for inpatient and outpatient services and outpatient prescription drugs.
Excess annualized costs were $4,917 for commercially insured patients, $2,696 for Medicare patients, and $9,310 for Medicaid patients.
The substantial health care costs associated with persisting pain in herpes zoster have important public health implications given evidence that the incidence of herpes zoster is increasing and that the population is aging in the United States. The results provide a basis for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of existing treatments and emerging prevention strategies.
带状疱疹消退后疼痛仍可能长期存在，但关于其医疗费用的情况却知之甚少。本研究的目的是通过比较患有疱疹后神经痛或亚急性疱疹性神经痛的患者与无这些病症的对照组的支出，来确定带状疱疹后持续性疼痛相关的医疗保健支出。
使用汤姆森 - 美思医疗（Thomson - Medstat）的市场扫描数据库计算带状疱疹患者持续性疼痛所致的医疗保健支出，以检查商业保险、医疗保险和医疗补助的住院和门诊服务以及门诊处方药索赔。
商业保险患者的年化额外费用为4917美元，医疗保险患者为2696美元，医疗补助患者为9310美元。
鉴于在美国带状疱疹发病率上升且人口老龄化的证据，带状疱疹持续性疼痛相关的大量医疗保健费用具有重要的公共卫生意义。这些结果为评估现有治疗方法和新兴预防策略的成本效益提供了依据。
