Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36854021›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2023

Treatment patterns and out-of-hospital healthcare resource utilisation by patients with advanced cancer living with pain: An analysis from the Stop Cancer PAIN trial.

Nikki McCaffrey, Seong Leang Cheah, Tim Luckett, Jane L Phillips, Meera Agar, Patricia M Davidson, Frances Boyle, Tim Shaw, David C Currow, Melanie Lovell

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Nikki McCaffreyDeakin Health Economics, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3684-3723
Seong Leang CheahFaculty of Health, IMPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation Sydney), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Tim LuckettFaculty of Health, IMPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation Sydney), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Jane L PhillipsFaculty of Health, IMPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation Sydney), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3691-8230
Meera AgarFaculty of Health, IMPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation Sydney), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Patricia M DavidsonFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
Frances BoylePatricia Ritchie Centre for Cancer Care and Research, Mater Hospital North Sydney, and University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Tim ShawFaculty of Medicine and Health, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
David C CurrowFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
Melanie LovellDepartment of Palliative Care, HammondCare, Greenwich Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
University of Technology Sydney · AUThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of Wollongong · AUDeakin University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAbout 70% of patients with advanced cancer experience pain. Few studies have investigated the use of healthcare in this population and the relationship between pain intensity and costs.

methodsAdults with advanced cancer and scored worst pain ≥ 2/10 on a numeric rating scale (NRS) were recruited from 6 Australian oncology/palliative care outpatient services to the Stop Cancer PAIN trial (08/15-06/19). Out-of-hospital, publicly funded services, prescriptions and costs were estimated for the three months before pain screening. Descriptive statistics summarize the clinico-demographic variables, health services and costs, treatments and pain scores. Relationships with costs were explored using Spearman correlations, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and a gamma log-link generalized linear model.

resultsOverall, 212 participants had median worst pain scores of five (inter-quartile range 4). The most frequently prescribed medications were opioids (60.1%) and peptic ulcer/gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) drugs (51.6%). The total average healthcare cost in the three months before the census date was A$6,742 (95% CI $5,637, $7,847), approximately $27,000 annually. Men had higher mean healthcare costs than women, adjusting for age, cancer type and pain levels (men $7,872, women $4,493, p<0.01) and higher expenditure on prescriptions (men $5,559, women $2,034, p<0.01).

conclusionsIn this population with pain and cancer, there was no clear relationship between healthcare costs and pain severity. These treatment patterns requiring further exploration including the prevalence of peptic ulcer/GORD drugs, and lipid lowering agents and the higher healthcare costs for men.

trial registrationACTRN12615000064505. World Health Organisation unique trial number U1111-1164-4649. Registered 23 January 2015.

Indexed as

Cancer PainGastroesophageal RefluxNeoplasmsAdultAustraliaFemaleHospitalsHumansMaleOutpatientsPainPatient Acceptance of Health Care

Identifiers

PMID36854021
PMCPMC9974128
OpenAlexW4322618763

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.