Presented at the 2012 AAPM Annual Meeting « Back

Impact of Side Effects of Hydrocodone or Oxycodone Immediate Release: Patient-Reported Bother and Other Medication Use

Kathryn P. Anastassopoulos, MS, kathryn.anastassopoulos@covance.com¹, Wing Chow, PharmD MPH², Rebecca Baik, BS¹, Crisanta I. Tapia, MHS³, Bruce L. Moskovitz, MD⁴, Myoung S. Kim, PhD MBA², (1) Covance Market Access Services Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, (2) Janssen Scientific Affairs, Raritan, New Jersey, (3) Covance Market Access Services, San Diego, California, (4) Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, Lambertville, New Jersey

Introduction: While hydrocodone and oxycodone immediate release, alone or in combination with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin, are widely used to treat pain, both are reported to cause bothersome side effects (SEs). This analysis assessed the frequency and bother of SEs and their impact on other medication use and related out-of-pocket costs (OOPC) among hydrocodone or oxycodone users. Materials and Methods: A nationwide convenience sample of adults taking hydrocodone (n = 630) or oxycodone (n = 601) for non-cancer pain completed an online survey to report on SEs, bother level, SE medication use, and OOPC, along with other measures not reported here. Results: Hydrocodone respondents were older (mean: 50.1 vs. 45.2 years). Almost half reported taking hydrocodone (46.8%) or oxycodone (45.6%) for back/neck pain. Mean daily dose was 14.0 mg hydrocodone or 16.5 mg oxycodone. More hydrocodone respondents reported taking >90 days (81.4% vs. 33.1%). More oxycodone respondents were bothered by ≥1 SE (84.0% vs. 67.3%) with more very bothered (30.8% vs. 26.0%). Composite dizziness/headache/drowsiness was reported most (42.2% hydrocodone, 68.2% oxycodone) with similar rates for composite nausea/vomiting/constipation (41.0% hydrocodone, 61.7% oxycodone). As SE bother increased, respondents reported increased prescription (hydrocodone: r = 1.00; oxycodone: r = 0.99) and OTC (hydrocodone: r = 1.00; oxycodone: r = 0.99) medication use, incurring increased monthly OOPC ($5.42 hydrocodone, $5.23 oxycodone). Among those very bothered, these costs doubled. Conclusions: Most respondents experienced SEs. As SE bother increased, other medication use increased, levying economic and potential clinical burden on respondents. Further analyses of these data will assess the impact on other medical resource use and patient-reported outcomes.

Funding: This research was funded by Janssen Scientific Affairs, Raritan, NJ.