Economic Benefit of Interferon in Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the economic burden of chronic hepatitis B(CHB)and its complications,and to e-valuate the benefits of treatment with interferon-?.METHODS:The components of the economic burden of disease included direct medical costs and non-medical costs as well as indirect economic loss per patient-year in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infections,including chronic hepatitis B,compensated and decompensated cirrhosis,and hepatocellular carcinoma.Net cost savings due to treatment of CHB with interferon-?were estimated using clinical data from2therapeutic schemes used in hospital.RESULTS:For the patients at different stages of hepatopathy,the direct medical cost and economic burden per year were different9000yuan,11362yuan(CHB);13865yuan,19412yuan(compensated cirehosis);25678yuan,36979yuan(decompensated cirrhosis);26501yuan,40264yuan(liver cancer),Compared with conrentional therapy against CHB,the direct medical cost and total cost were reduced following4months treatment of interferon-?after5-year follow-up.The reduced amounts were831yuan,2038yuan per person,respectively.The surrival rate rised by2.8%.CONCLUSION:CHB infections create a heavy economic burden on the society,as well as patients and their families.We have seen the potential cost-savings due to treatment with interferon-?.