Cost of oral antibiotic therapy

Many bacterial infections can be managed effectively with oral agents rather than parenteral therapy, significantly reducing treatment costs. With renewed interest in oral therapy, and with the importance of cost containment in the managed care environment, it is necessary to evaluate costs associated with different oral antimicrobials. Comparison of per-dose cost and baseline treatment cost (cost/dose x doses/day x days of treatment) is straightforward. More difficult to determine is the overall treatment cost, which is influenced by probabilities that therapy will be effective, safe, and complete. Tolerability, complexity of dosage regimen, and potential for drug-drug interactions may all affect therapeutic efficacy and overall cost. Compared with older agents, newer antibiotics are generally better tolerated and less likely to produce adverse reactions, resulting in better patient compliance, greater efficacy, and often lower overall cost of antimicrobial therapy.