Browsing by Author "Jensen, Agnes C."

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    Design, recruitment outcomes, and sample characteristics of the Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness (SPACE) trial
    (Elsevier, 2017-11) Krebs, Erin E.; Jensen, Agnes C.; Nugent, Sean; DeRonne, Beth; Rutks, Indulis; Leverty, David; Gravely, Amy; Noorbaloochi, Siamak; Bair, Matthew J.; Kroenke, Kurt; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine
    This manuscript describes the study protocol, recruitment outcomes, and baseline participant characteristics for the Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness (SPACE) trial. SPACE is a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness trial conducted in multiple VA primary care clinics within one VA health care system. The objective was to compare benefits and harms of opioid therapy versus non-opioid medication therapy over 12 months among patients with moderate-to-severe chronic back pain or hip/knee osteoarthritis pain despite analgesic therapy; patients already receiving regular opioid therapy were excluded. Key design features include comparing two clinically-relevant medication interventions, pragmatic eligibility criteria, and flexible treat-to-target interventions. Screening, recruitment and study enrollment were conducted over 31 months. A total of 4491 patients were contacted for eligibility screening; 53.1% were ineligible, 41.0% refused, and 5.9% enrolled. The most common reasons for ineligibility were not meeting pain location and severity criteria. The most common study-specific reasons for refusal were preference for no opioid use and preference for no pain medications. Of 265 enrolled patients, 25 withdrew before randomization. Of 240 randomized patients, 87.9% were male, 84.1% were white, and age range was 21–80 years. Past-year mental health diagnoses were 28.3% depression, 17% anxiety, 9.4% PTSD, 7.9% alcohol use disorder, and 2.6% drug use disorder. In conclusion, although recruitment for this trial was challenging, characteristics of enrolled participants suggest we were successful in recruiting patients similar to those prescribed opioid therapy in usual care.
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    Effect of Opioid vs Nonopioid Medications on Pain-Related Function in Patients With Chronic Back Pain or Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis Pain
    (American Medical Association, 2018-03-06) Krebs, Erin E.; Gravely, Amy; Nugent, Sean; Jensen, Agnes C.; DeRonne, Beth; Goldsmith, Elizabeth S.; Kroenke, Kurt; Bair, Matthew J.; Noorbalochi, Simak; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Importance: Limited evidence is available regarding long-term outcomes of opioids compared with nonopioid medications for chronic pain. Objective: To compare opioid vs nonopioid medications over 12 months on pain-related function, pain intensity, and adverse effects. Design, Setting, and Participants: Pragmatic, 12-month, randomized trial with masked outcome assessment. Patients were recruited from Veterans Affairs primary care clinics from June 2013 through December 2015; follow-up was completed December 2016. Eligible patients had moderate to severe chronic back pain or hip or knee osteoarthritis pain despite analgesic use. Of 265 patients enrolled, 25 withdrew prior to randomization and 240 were randomized. Interventions: Both interventions (opioid and nonopioid medication therapy) followed a treat-to-target strategy aiming for improved pain and function. Each intervention had its own prescribing strategy that included multiple medication options in 3 steps. In the opioid group, the first step was immediate-release morphine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone/acetaminophen. For the nonopioid group, the first step was acetaminophen (paracetamol) or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Medications were changed, added, or adjusted within the assigned treatment group according to individual patient response. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was pain-related function (Brief Pain Inventory [BPI] interference scale) over 12 months and the main secondary outcome was pain intensity (BPI severity scale). For both BPI scales (range, 0-10; higher scores = worse function or pain intensity), a 1-point improvement was clinically important. The primary adverse outcome was medication-related symptoms (patient-reported checklist; range, 0-19). Results: Among 240 randomized patients (mean age, 58.3 years; women, 32 [13.0%]), 234 (97.5%) completed the trial. Groups did not significantly differ on pain-related function over 12 months (overall P = .58); mean 12-month BPI interference was 3.4 for the opioid group and 3.3 for the nonopioid group (difference, 0.1 [95% CI, -0.5 to 0.7]). Pain intensity was significantly better in the nonopioid group over 12 months (overall P = .03); mean 12-month BPI severity was 4.0 for the opioid group and 3.5 for the nonopioid group (difference, 0.5 [95% CI, 0.0 to 1.0]). Adverse medication-related symptoms were significantly more common in the opioid group over 12 months (overall P = .03); mean medication-related symptoms at 12 months were 1.8 in the opioid group and 0.9 in the nonopioid group (difference, 0.9 [95% CI, 0.3 to 1.5]). Conclusions and Relevance: Treatment with opioids was not superior to treatment with nonopioid medications for improving pain-related function over 12 months. Results do not support initiation of opioid therapy for moderate to severe chronic back pain or hip or knee osteoarthritis pain.
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    “I was a little surprised”: Qualitative Insights from Patients Enrolled in a 12-Month Trial Comparing Opioids to Non-Opioid Medications for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
    (Elsevier, 2018) Matthias, Marianne S.; Donaldson, Melvin T.; Jensen, Agnes C.; Krebs, Erin E.; Communication Studies, School of Liberal Arts
    Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a major public health problem. Although opioid prescribing for chronic pain has increased dramatically since the 1990s, this practice has come under scrutiny because of increases in opioid-related harms and lack of evidence for long-term effectiveness. The Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness (SPACE) trial was a pragmatic 12-month randomized trial comparing benefits and harms of opioid versus non-opioid medications for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The current qualitative study was designed to better understand trial results by exploring patients’ experiences, including perceptions of medications, experiences with the intervention, and whether expectations were met. Thirty-four participants who were purposefully sampled based on treatment group and intervention response participated in semi-structured interviews. The constant comparison method guided analysis. Results revealed that participants often held strong beliefs about opioid medications, which sometimes changed during the trial as they gained experience with medications; participants described a wide variety of experiences with treatment effectiveness, regardless of study group or their response to the intervention; and participants highly valued the personalized pain care model used in SPACE.