Pacira BioSciences Announces Findings From A Study Evaluating The Clinical And Economic Impact Of Exparel On Opioid Use, Healthcare Resource Utilization, And Total Medical Costs Following Outpatient Total Hip Arthroplasty Among Medicare Patients

The data were presented at the Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, hosted by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), held from April 16-18.

The retrospective study evaluated the real-world impact of EXPAREL compared to other standard-of-care options (non-liposome bupivacaine (non-LB)) on opioid use and healthcare utilization for up to 12 months following outpatient total hip arthroplasty for Medicare patients. Data was analyzed from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services database. The results showed:

• Over 12 months, EXPAREL was associated with significant reductions in opioid use after surgery across all time points (P<0.0001 for all):
  • 30 days (333 vs 380 Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MMEs))
  • 90 days (637 vs 805 MMEs)
  • 180 days (1073 vs 1415 MMEs)
  • 365 days (1962 vs 2576 MMEs)
• Patients who were administered EXPAREL had significantly lower healthcare utilization, including inpatient admissions, emergency department (ED) visits, and outpatient admissions, compared to the non-LB group:
  • Inpatient admissions: 30-day (42 vs 79); 90-day (174 vs 243); 180-day (327 vs 447); 365-day (698 vs 883); all P<0.001
  • ED visits: 30-day (673 vs 639, P=0.348); 90-day (1147 vs 1404, P<0.0001); 180-day (1770 vs 2485, P<0.0001); 365-day (3309 vs 4382, P<0.0001)
  • Outpatient admissions: 30-day (3440 vs 3493, P=0.524); 90-day (9406 vs 10,202, P<0.0001); 180-day (16,981 vs 18,433, P<0.0001); 365-day (32,241 vs 34,388; P<0.0001)
• Patients in the EXPAREL group also experienced significantly fewer opioid-related adverse events:
  • 30 days (9 vs 11) (P<0.05)
  • 90 days (15 v 18) (P<0.01)
  • 180 days (20 v 23) (P<0.01)
  • 365 days (23 v 27) (P<0.01)
• Both groups had similar costs on the day of surgery; however, the EXPAREL group had significantly lower total medical costs compared with the non-LB group (P<0.0001) during follow-up at all time periods during the 12-month analysis.
  • 30 days ($1233 vs $1627)
  • 90 days ($2507 vs $3154)
  • 180 days ($4422 vs $5333)
  • 365 days ($8390 vs $9250)
    
     

"These findings reinforce the critical role EXPAREL plays in reducing patient exposure to opioids in a very common procedure such as hip replacement surgery, especially among the older Medicare population, which can be a particularly vulnerable group," said Brendan Teehan, Chief Commercial Officer at Pacira. "Equally importantly, we also saw lower healthcare resource utilization, including inpatient admissions and ER visits, resulting in lower total medical costs among patients using EXPAREL, which is further proof of its economic value."