Effects of the use of AZT on the medical care costs of persons with AIDS in the first 12 months
Article Abstract:
Studies have shown that patients who are infected with HIV have a reduced chance of dying if treated with azidothymidine (AZT). The health care costs of AIDS patients who are treated with AZT were compared with those of patients who were not treated with the drug. Since treatment with AZT is the standard of care for people with AIDS, it is necessary to determine the health care costs so that financial needs can be meet. The health care costs for 12 months were determined for seven patients who received treatment with AZT during a clinical drug trial, and a matched group of patients who met the criteria for the trial but did not participate in it. Health care costs were lower during the 12 months, especially in the first six months, for those treated with AZT than for those not treated with AZT. The average health care costs were $22,472 for patients treated with AZT, including the $8,000 for the cost of the drug, compared with $41,133 for those not treated with AZT. The lower cost was primarily due to lower use of hospital services. However, the cost for the patients treated with AZT rose in the second six months, due to increased use of inpatient hospital care. With this rise in the second six months, it is doubted that the total lifetime health care costs for AIDS patients will be lower if they are treated with AZT than if they are not. The expense of AZT and the high cost of the terminal care of AIDS patients make the costs comparable to those who are not treated with AZT. The cost per year of life gained with AZT treatment is estimated at $16,000. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0894-9255
Year: 1990
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Prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in a cohort of homosexual men at risk of AIDS and toxoplasmic encephalitis
Article Abstract:
Toxoplasmic-encephalitis associated with AIDS appears to result from reactivation of a previous Toxoplasma infection. Infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is usually mild but may cause extensive brain damage in patients with suppressed immune systems. Of 1,073 homosexual and bisexual men, 443 were HIV-positive and 117 had previously been infected with Toxoplasma. Overall, 42 men were positive for both. There was no significant difference in the incidence of Toxoplasma infection among racial groups. Only men who were both HIV-positive and who had previously been infected with Toxoplasma developed Toxoplasmic encephalitis. None of the 183 men who eventually developed AIDS and had initially tested negative for Toxoplasma developed Toxoplasmic encephalitis. Five of the 13 men with AIDS and Toxoplasma infection developed Toxoplasmic encephalitis and all died.
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0894-9255
Year: 1993
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