An economic exploration of oral and intravenous ganciclovir in the induction and maintenance treatment of AIDS-related cytomegalovirus retinitis.

The objective of the study was to compare the impact of oral and i.v. ganciclovir on resource use and direct health care costs, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service (NHS). The analytical framework used was cost analysis. The sources of data were an open, randomized clinical trial, and additional research which collected resource use and cost data. From the perspective of the UK NHS, the expected cost of i.v. ganciclovir for initial induction and 140 days maintenance and reinduction therapy was pounds 730 higher than that of oral (pounds 8145 vs pounds 7415). Conservative estimates which did not favour oral ganciclovir were used wherever possible. Overall, the resource use and costs of maintenance therapy with oral ganciclovir calculated in the model used for this study were lower than those of i.v. ganciclovir, principally reflecting lower costs for the administration of therapy. In this model the drug cost of ganciclovir maintenance therapy was excluded.