Parkinson’s disease is a progressive long-term brain disorder affecting nearly 1 million people in the United States, with 50% also being affected by Parkinson’s disease psychosis. While the disorder typically presents in individuals in their mid-fifties, it can also affect people in their 30s and 40s. This can manifest as both motor and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms are changes associated with Parkinson’s disease that affect the movement of the body, while nonmotor symptoms are not related to movement.

Nonmotor symptoms can include reduced sense of smell, sleep disturbances, depression, dementia and psychosis. Motor symptoms can include tremors or uncontrolled shaking, slowed or limited body movements, body stiffness (Most often in the upper extremities and neck), and little to no facial expressions.

Psychosis often involves hallucinations and/or delusions, including auditory, visual, taste, smell, or the belief that somethings are not real. Patients with Parkinson’s disease psychosis experience Parkinson’s disease symptoms, as well as hallucinations and/or delusions.

A study was conducted from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2019 spanning 12,164 records to investigated how patients used healthcare services such as hospitalizations or emergency room visits, and reviewed Medicare insurance reimbursement claims data, which showed what services a patient received and how much Medicare paid for those services.

This analysis compared pimavanserin to a group of atypical antipsychotics that are not approved by the FDA for Parkinson’s disease psychosis. Results compared patients who received off-label atypical antipsychotic medications, patients who received pimavanserin had lower associated risk of one or more all-cause healthcare stays, which included all stays regardless of the specific cause, and one or more psychiatric healthcare stays, which involved specific disorders involving hallucinations or delusions, in settings including hospital admissions, short-term stays and skilled nursing facility stays. The numbers of patients with one or more all-cause, which included any reason for healthcare hospitalizations or stays, or one or more psychiatric emergency room visits were statistically significantly lower in patients who were given pimavanserin. It was also noted that patience showed a lowered relative risk of falls and fractures in subsequent months while in their primary residence.

This research was based on health insurance records, it cannot fully capture important factors such as care giver support, symptom severity, or home circumstances.

To see the full article, click on the link at the bottom of this blog.

Link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14796708.2024.2430813

Citation: Krithika Rajagopalan, Nazia Rashid & Dilesh Doshi (2024) Healthcare resource utilization patterns among patients with Parkinson’s disease psychosis: Analysis of individuals covered by Medicare and treated with pimavanserin or other atypical antipsychotics, Future Neurology, 19:1, 2430813, DOI: 10.1080/14796708.2024.2430813