[Cost of HIV treatment in highly active antiretroviral therapy in Japan]

In a study of estimating the socio-economic impact of HIV infection in Japan in 1999, the hospital costs of treating HIV-infected adult patients were estimated by clinical stage of HIV infection. A total of 608 claims for medical fee of 109 individuals derived from 5 hospitals were examined in that study. The costs of treating outpatient were estimated at between 180,000 yen and 216,000 yen per month and 83% of the total cost was accounted for by antiretrovirals. Cost estimates per month for inpatient with AIDS varied from 373,000 yen for CD4+ 200-499, to 768,000 yen for CD4+ 50-199, to 1,715,000 yen for CD4+ < 50. Compared with cost estimates in 1995, the outpatient costs were 2.7 to 8.6 times and the inpatient cost increased by 25%.