A Systematic Review of the Direct and Indirect Costs among Tuberculosis Patients

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top ten leading death diseases in the world. The economic burden of TB disease predicted could reach USD 16.7 trillion in 2050. This study aims to present the cost of TB treatment by direct and indirect cost of TB disease with systematic review form. A systematic review was performed on Pub Med, Science Direct and Google Scholar during the period 2008–2018. Combination key terms such as “tuberculosis” OR “TB” AND “economic burden” OR “financial burden” OR “cost” OR “cost of illness” AND “direct cost” AND “indirect cost” were used for the search. Original articles published in English and reported both direct and indirect cost of tuberculosis treatment in a population were included. A total of 36 studies were retrieved, 8 studies were finally selected that met all eligibility criteria which reported both direct and indirect cost of tuberculosis treatment in the several countries. From the review, we summarize that direct cost of tuberculosis ranged from USD34.91 to USD 2, 680 and indirect cost was between USD 161 and USD 3, 739.21. This study shows that cost of tuberculosis treatment imposes a huge economic burden in terms of provider, societal, and patients. An effort to improve the tuberculosis patient's adherence is a suitable preventive strategic to reduce the economic burden.