title: Cost effectiveness in the choice of antibiotics for the initial treatment of otitis media in children: a decision analysis approach.
abstract: If the initial use of amoxicillin fails to cure otitis media, a family will be burdened with medical costs for a second medication, additional office visit fees and time lost from employment. For some families the initial choice of a more expensive but more effective antibiotic may be more cost effective. Using a decision analysis approach we compared the cost effectiveness of amoxicillin and cefaclor. As the amoxicillin efficacy rate decreases or as parental salaries are increased, the cost-effective advantage moves towards cefaclor. With the decision analysis method described, a practitioner can use costs and efficacy rates relevant to his or her practice to determine the most cost-effective initial antibiotic for a child with otitis media.
mesh_terms: D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002433:Cefaclor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002506:Cephalexin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D002433:Cefaclor; D000658:Amoxicillin; D002506:Cephalexin