Computer program for comparing total costs of intravenous antibiotic regimens

Area of Science:

• Pharmacoeconomics
• Health Informatics
• Infectious Disease Management

Background:

• Intravenous antibiotic therapy is crucial for treating serious infections.
• Accurate cost assessment of different antibiotic regimens is complex.
• Hospital-specific costs (personnel, materials) significantly impact overall therapy expenses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a computer program for estimating and comparing intravenous antibiotic therapy costs.
• To demonstrate the program's utility with a real-world cost comparison.
• To highlight the importance of including hospital-specific data in cost analyses.

Main Methods:

• Developed a two-part computer program: ABDATA for cost estimation and ABCOMP for regimen comparison.
• Input antibiotic-specific data (dosage, duration, monitoring, acquisition cost) and hospital-specific data (personnel, materials).
• Assumed similar efficacy and toxicity for compared antibiotic regimens.

Main Results:

• The program generated an itemized list of total therapy costs.
• A cost comparison showed ceftazidime was less expensive than tobramycin-ticarcillin for a 10-day course of treatment for nosocomial pneumonia and bacteremia.
• Despite higher unit cost, ceftazidime's total cost was lower due to fewer associated personnel and material expenses.

Conclusions:

• A computer program integrating unit drug costs with hospital-specific expenses can facilitate comprehensive intravenous antibiotic regimen cost comparisons.
• This tool aids in informed decision-making for selecting cost-effective antibiotic therapies.
• Accurate pharmacoeconomic evaluation requires considering all components of therapy costs.