The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect on Health Care Costs for Adolescents Receiving Adjunctive Internet-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
The economic burden of pediatric chronic pain is high, with an estimated annual cost of $19.5 billion. Little is known about whether psychological treatment for pediatric chronic pain can alter health care utilization for youth. The primary aim of this secondary data analysis was to evaluate the effect of adjunctive internet cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention or adjunctive internet education on health care-related economic costs in a cohort of adolescents with chronic pain recruited from interdisciplinary pain clinics across the United States. ⋯ Results indicated that the rate of change in health care costs over time was not significantly different between the internet cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention and adjunctive internet education groups. Further research is needed to replicate these findings and determine patterns and drivers of health care costs for youth with chronic pain evaluated in interdisciplinary pain clinics and whether psychological treatments can alter these patterns. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT01316471).