Cost effectiveness of teicoplanin and ceftriaxone: a once-daily antibiotic regimen.

There is a high incidence of staphylococcal infection in febrile neutropenic children with a central venous line. These patients are usually initially treated with empiric antimicrobial therapy that provides broad spectrum coverage. In a study evaluating a conventional regimen of vancomycin 40 mg/kg/d plus ceftazidime 100 mg/kg/d given in three divided doses to 41 febrile children with leukemia or lymphoma, the response rate was 87% after a mean treatment duration of 16 days. A once-daily regimen of an investigational antibiotic, teicoplanin, 10 mg/kg/d and ceftriaxone 50 mg/kg/d evaluated in 47 febrile children with leukemia was found to produce an equivalent rate of success and require the same mean duration of therapy. A cost-effectiveness analysis comparing the economic impact of replacing the conventional regimen with once-daily teicoplanin-ceftriaxone revealed that a 16-day course of the latter treatment would produce cost savings in terms of the cost of the antibiotics and other nonreusable materials, as well as in nursing time. Using French drug pricing data, the savings calculated for drugs and materials were 478 FF ($80 US). The teicoplanin-ceftriaxone regimen saved approximately 14 hours in nursing time per patient. Extrapolations based on estimates of hospital occupancy and the ratio of days a patient receives antibiotic therapy to the total duration of hospital stay suggest that an average hospital ward could achieve monthly costsavings of 7,641 FF ($1,273 US) for antibiotics and materials.