Dr. Dick Menzies of the RI-MUHC recently carried out a cost-comparison study of two treatments for latent tuberculosis. He compared a four-month course of rifampin to a nine-month course of isoniazid, as a treatment for latent tuberculosis infection. The rifampin was found to be a safer and more cost-effective choice than the isoniazid. Dr. Menzies explains the importance of this finding:
“In this study, we compared the costs of the two regimens from the perspective of the health system, because policymakers do not look only at regimen effectiveness when adopting new regimens, but also consider affordability”.
“There is no time to lose; the evidence base supporting rifampin is strong,” says Dr. Menzies. “We believe that it is time for policymakers and tuberculosis programmes to make four-months of rifampin available as a first-line treatment option for tuberculosis preventive therapy.”
Read the publication here:
Health System Costs of Treating Latent Tuberculosis Infection With Four Months of Rifampin Versus Nine Months of Isoniazid in Different Settings. Bastos ML, Campbell JR, Oxlade O, Adjobimey M, Trajman A, Ruslami R, Kim HJ, Baah JO, Toelle BG, Long R, Hoeppner V, Elwood K, Al-Jahdali H, Apriani L, Benedetti A, Schwartzman K and Menzies D. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Aug 4;173(3):169-178.