COST COMPARISON OF SINGLE DAILY IV-DOSES OF CEFTRIAXONE VERSUS CONTINUOUS-INFUSION OF CEFOTAXIME

The costs of administering ceftriaxone 1 g in a once-daily 30-minute i nfusion were compared with the costs of administering cefotaxime 2 g/d ay (with an additional 1 g given on day 1) by continuous intravenous i nfusion. Time and motion studies were conducted to determine the pharm acy and nursing labor required to prepare and administer the intermitt ent and continuously infused antimicrobials. Mean times were multiplie d by the mean New England hourly wage for pharmacy technicians, pharma cists, and nurses to determine the total labor costs of each regimen. Hospital acquisition costs of items used in preparing antimicrobial do ses for administration by each method were also compared. Wholesale ac quisition costs of the two drugs were used in the analysis. Labor cost s were higher for the continuously infused antimicrobial because of th e additional nursing time required for monitoring. Supply costs were g reater for continuous infusion. Drug acquisition cost was the major co mponent of the overall cost of therapy and was lower for continuous in fusion. A cost analysis showed that continuous i.v. infusion of cefota xime 2 g/day was less expensive from day 2 onward than intermittent da ily i.v. doses of ceftriaxone 1 g.