Modelling persistent orofacial pain management's costs and benefits

At the 96th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the IADR Pan European Regional (PER) Congress, Justin Durham, Newcastle University, England, gave a poster presentation titled "DEEP Study: Modelling Persistent Orofacial Pain Management's Costs and Benefits." The IADR/PER General Session & Exhibition is in London, England at the ExCeL London Convention Center from July 25-28, 2018.

Persistent orofacial pain (POFP) impacts the daily lives of patients and can lead to significant costs for them and/or the health service provider. In this study, Durham and co-authors examined the costs and quality-of-health experienced by individuals with POFP and used the data to estimate outcomes from pain onset over an individual's life-course.

People receiving care for POFP both in community and specialist settings were followed for 24 months. Data was collected every six months on health service utilization, pain-related disability scored by the Graded chronic pain scale (GCPS) and health-related quality of life measured by quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Regressions were conducted to show how costs and QALYs varied according to participant characteristics. The results were used to parameterize a Markov model which was used to estimate the outcomes for a cohort of POFP patients from age 25 until death.

The results showed that a high GCPS state led to significantly increased healthcare cost as well as a significant decrease in quality-of-life. A cohort of POFP patients from age 25 were assumed to all die by the age of 100 but on average would only accrue 18 QALYs per person. Given the prevalence of POFP, this further demonstrates the burden of POFP on health and illustrates the potential gains to be made from more effective care.