Cost-effectiveness and total costs of three alternative strategies for the prevention and management of severe skin reactions attributable to thiacetazone in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive patients with tuberculosis in Kenya.
METHODS
Severe skin reactions due to thiacetazone (T) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive tuberculosis patients have been reported in several publications, one of them from Kenya. However, the abandoning of T may not be feasible in Kenya as this may increase the cost of drugs by about three-fold per regimen.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the cost-effectiveness and total cost of three strategies in which T is replaced with ethambutol (E).


METHODS
Three strategies are compared with a baseline strategy in which T is not replaced. The indicator for cost-effectiveness is the cost-per-averted-death attributable to T.


RESULTS
Education of patients on the possibility of side-effects and replacement of T with E is the most cost-effective strategy at HIV prevalence rates of 1-90%. Abandonment of T and replacement with E is the most cost-effective at over 90% HIV prevalence.


CONCLUSIONS
In Kenya, education of patients on the possibility of skin reactions should be preferred at low range HIV prevalence rates. Routine HIV testing would be the most attractive strategy in the middle range, and total replacement of T with E is to be preferred in the higher range of HIV prevalence.
van Gorkom
J
J
Ministry of Health, National Leprosy Tuberculosis Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Kibuga
D K
DK
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis / Q000191:economics; D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D013828:Thioacetazone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D013828:Thioacetazone