To the Editor,
This letter concerns our article “Treatment Patterns and Outcomes in Patients with Varicose Veins” (Am Health Drug Benefits, November 2016).1 We wish to correct a potential misunderstanding of our findings as described in the article, as communicated by Gary Owens, MD, in the Stakeholder Perspective, “Important Insights from Real-World Treatment Patterns and Outcomes for Varicose Veins,” an opinion piece related to our article.
Under the section labeled “Providers,” Dr Owens notes that the fact that a substantial percentage of the study patients received conservative therapy may be a reflection of the population being younger, female, and having less comorbidities. However, our findings, as stated in the article, actually show that it is the interventional cohort that is younger, more likely to be female, and more likely to have fewer comorbidities. Our inferred reasoning is that older patients, and those with more comorbidities, may have other urgent concerns than interventional treatment of varicose veins.
Rajiv Mallick, PhD
1. Mallick R, Raju A, Campbell C, et al. Treatment patterns and outcomes in patients with varicose veins. Am Health Drug Benefits. 2016;9(8):455-465.