University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers have found that the cost of preventive antibiotic tuberculosis (TB) therapy for patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is generally less expensive than the reported cost of treating newly confirmed TB cases.
The study, published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease this summer, relied on treatment-cost estimates from previous research studies and data collected by members of the study's research team at a TB treatment site in Cambodia.
"We completed this study to provide health-program managers cost and cost-effectiveness data on components of a comprehensive package of HIV care. This data is essential to help establish feasible and effective ways to manage patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection and tuberculosis in a developing country," said Bryce Sutton, Ph.D., an economist in the UAB School of Business and one of the study's co-investigators.
The research found that the cost of preventing a single case of TB with intensive screening and preventive treatment with antibiotics in HIV-infected patients prior to their exposure to the disease was approximately $950. Compare that to a cost range of $900-$1500, which is the previously reported range for treating a new smear-positive TB case in a developing country setting after adjusting for inflation.