THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF AZITHROMYCIN FOR CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS INFECTIONS IN WOMEN

Background and Objectives: Azithromycin, an approved single-dose thera py for cervical chlamydia infections, costs four times as much as doxy cycline, the standard multidose therapy. Goal of this Study: This stud y examined whether azithromycin is cost effective for treating cervica l chlamydia infections. Study Design: Two diagnostic strategies were c ompared: 1) laboratory confirmation of chlamydia, and 2) presumptive d iagnosis: from the perspective of the healthcare system and the public ly funded clinic. Results: From the healthcare perspective, the cost p er case of pelvic inflammatory disease prevented with azithromycin ran ges from a savings of $3,502 for laboratory confirmation to a cost of $792 for presumptive diagnosis. From the publicly funded clinic perspe ctive, the cost per case of pelvic inflammatory disease prevented rang es from $709 for lab-confirmed diagnosis to $3,969 for presumptive tre atment. Conclusion: For the healthcare system, azithromycin is a cost- effective alternative to doxycycline. However, the cost of azithromyci n must decrease markedly for it to be less costly to the publicly fund ed clinic.