Highly active antiretroviral therapy - Pharmacoeconomic issues in the management of HIV infection

The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), including prote ase inhibitors and/or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, for the treatment of HIV infection has led to a dramatic decline of morbidity a nd mortality. The acquisition costs of HAART are substantial. However, thes e costs are partially offset by reduced inpatient care for opportunistic in fections and other AIDS-related diseases. Furthermore, job productivity in patients infected with HIV is increased under KAART. In developed countries with a low unemployment rate, the discounted value of savings caused by in creased productivity in earlier years exceeds the discounted value of later increases in costs resulting from morbidity. Therefore, HAART represents a very efficient treatment strategy that leads to overall cost savings when taking a societal perspective.