The cost of treatment of tuberculosis in children of Belarus

Abstract

Rationale: Tuberculosis (TB) imposes a significant financial and social burden on people with this disease, their families, society, and the state. Understanding the financial and social burden due to TB makes it possible to justify the need for investment in the TB service. The purpose was to study the average cost of treatment of active and latent TB in children in Belarus. Methods: A database of 774 children with pulmonary TB was used to calculate the average age of a child with TB. The price for medical services of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Pulmonology and Tuberculosis of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus were used. We used the average prices for anti-TB drugs from the International Medical Products Price Guide (2016). Results: The average age of a child with pulmonary TB was 14.2 ± 4.3 years. The average weight of a child with pulmonary TB was 50.8 kilograms. The total cost of inpatient and outpatient treatment of one child with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB amounted $ 8 806, with drug-resistant pulmonary TB - $ 16 025. The cost of different courses of treatment of latent TB is determined. The total cost of treatment of latent TB for one child with latent TB with isoniazid for 6 months was $ 5.8, with isoniazid and rifampicin for 3 months - $ 25.4, with rifampicin for 4 months - $ 30.0. Conclusions: The results show that the cost of treatment of latent TB in children in 293.5 - 346.7 - 1518.2 times lower than the cost of treatment of drug-sensitive TB, in 534.2 - 630.9 - 2763.0 times lower than the cost of treatment drug-resistant TB. The results can be used to determine the cost of medical care for children with active and latent TB.