title: [Cost-effectiveness of vaccinating pregnant women against pandemic influenza in Colombia].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Estimating the cost-effectiveness ratio of vaccinating pregnant women against the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in Colombia during the second wave of the pandemic.
  
  
  METHODS
  A decision tree was constructed, which simulated the health results (deaths and years of potential life lost [YPLL]) in two cohorts of pregnant women; one vaccinated, the other unvaccinated. The model's parameters were drawn from scientific literature and costs were estimated on the basis of a previous study. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vaccinating pregnant women against pandemic flu would have prevented between 4 664 and 15 741 outpatient visits and between 119 and 401 hospitalizations. Between US$ 249 530 and US$ 842 163 in costs of care would have been avoided. For the base scenario, vaccinating pregnant women would be cost-effective (ICER/YPLL avoided US$ 7 657). This ICER was responsive to the disease's fatality rate; vaccination would not be cost-effective in Colombia in scenarios with a lower fatality rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vaccinating pregnant women against pandemic influenza is cost-effective in a scenario with a high mortality rate. The existing evidence that pregnant women are at increased risk of complications and that the vaccine is safe would justify its use in pregnant women.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Epidemiología y Evaluación en Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. lachocontap@unal.edu.co
authors.forename: Luz Angela
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Chocontá-Piraquive
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alvis Guzmán
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De la Hoz Restrepo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003663:Decision Trees; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000191:economics*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008875:Middle Aged; D058873:Pandemics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines