title: Cost of illness of tuberculosis in Penang, Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the costs incurred by the public health services and patients as a result of tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Setting The study was conducted in a government hospital located in the northern region of Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective data were collected from medical records and the patients were observed until the completion of their medication. A pharmacoeconomic evaluation was applied to calculate direct and indirect costs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Direct and indirect costs of tuberculosis treatment in a government health institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and one tuberculosis patients were included in the study. Different regimens with various durations of treatments were used. The direct medical and non-medical costs as well as indirect costs were calculated and were found to be as follows: US$61.44 for anti-tuberculosis drugs and supplies, US$28.63 for X-ray examinations, US$28.53 for laboratory tests, US$20.03 for healthcare staff time, US$4.28 for hospitalisation, US$43.20 for overhead costs, US$608.11 for transportation and meals and US$118.78 for time away from work. The cost to the patients constitutes approximately 80% of the total cost of the treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cost of treating the illness of tuberculosis per patient was US$916.4. The cost of anti-tuberculosis drugs constituted the highest proportion of the cost to the public health services (31.7%) while the cost to the patient constituted the major proportion of the total cost of the illness (79.4%).
authors.affiliation: Social and Administrative Pharmacy School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Elfatih Ibrahim
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Elamin
authors.forename: Mohamed Izham Mohamed
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Syed Azhar Syed
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.forename: Abdul Razak
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Muttalif
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D016527:Drug Costs; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents