title: A comparison of the costs of ceftazidime therapy and gentamicin combinations in three UK hospitals.
abstract: This study compares the utilization costs of ceftazidime therapy with those of gentamicin in combination with other antibacterial drugs. The results show that the relatively high purchase cost of ceftazidime compared to combinations is more than counterbalanced by the additional materials used for drug administration and serum antibiotic assays, even when other drugs were combined with ceftazidime. The average drug and equipment costs were 230.13 pounds for ceftazidime regimens and 253.94 pounds for gentamicin regimens. It is also shown that ceftazidime therapy is associated with a reduction in personnel time compared to gentamicin regimens. The average times per patient for administration and assay were 1 h 43 min for ceftazidime and 4 h 57 min for gentamicin regimens. We conclude that ceftazidime regimens are cheaper than gentamicin regimens when all drug and equipment costs are quantified. Moreover, the use of ceftazidime will release staff time for other purposes.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacoeconomics Research Centre, University of Dundee, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malek
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bint
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jaderberg
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davey
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002442:Ceftazidime / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005839:Gentamicins; D002442:Ceftazidime