Inpharma 1457 - 2 Oct 2004

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Ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone worth it for paediatric acute otitis media Ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone is more cost effective than ofloxacin for treating acute otitis media among paediatric patients with trypanosome tubes, up to a relative threshold price of 4.5 times the wholesale price of ofloxacin, say researchers from the US. They used a decision-analysis model, based on clinical trial data, published literature, and a survey on clinical practice patterns, to assess the cost effectiveness of ototopical treatment among such patients; three tiers of antibacterial therapy were considered.* The model showed that ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone would be more cost effective than ofloxacin up to a threshold price of $US152.64, or 4.5 times the average wholesale acquisition cost of ofloxacin.** The researchers contend that the use of ciprofloxacin/ dexamethasone instead of ofloxacin "should result in cost savings to third-party payers because of the avoidance of therapeutic failures". * The study was supported by a grant from Alcon Research Ltd., US, with which two of the researchers were affiliated. ** Only direct costs of treatment were included in the analysis. All costs were presented in 2003 values. Roland PS, et al. A cost threshold analysis of ciprofloxacin-dexamethasone versus ofloxacin for acute otitis media in pediatric patients with tympanostomy tubes. 800989155 Clinical Therapeutics 26: 1168-1178, No. 7, Jul 2004

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Inpharma 2 Oct 2004 No. 1457