Dagna Constenla

Potential cost-effectiveness of vaccination for rotavirus gastroenteritis in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries

OBJECTIVES To estimate the costs, benefits and cost-effectiveness of vaccination for rotavirus gastroenteritis in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela. METHODS An economic model was constructed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of vaccination from the health care system perspective, using national administrative and published epidemiological evidence, country-specific cost estimates, and vaccine efficacy data. The model was applied to the first five years of life for the 2003 birth cohort in each country. The main health outcome was the disability-adjusted life year (DALY), and the main summary measure was the incremental cost per DALY averted. A 3% discount rate was used for all predicted costs and benefits. Sensitivity analyses evaluated the impact of uncertainty regarding key variables on cost-effectiveness estimates. RESULTS According to the estimates obtained with the economic model, vaccination would prevent more than 65% of the medical visits, deaths, and treatment costs associated with rotavirus gastroenteritis in the eight countries analyzed here. At a cost of US

The burden of pneumococcal disease among Latin American and Caribbean children: review of the evidence

24 per course (for a two-dose vaccine), the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ranged from 269 US dollars/DALY in Honduras to 10,656 US dollars/DALY in Chile. Cost-effectiveness ratios were sensitive to assumptions about vaccine price, mortality, and vaccine efficacy. CONCLUSIONS Vaccination would effectively reduce the disease burden and health care costs of rotavirus gastroenteritis in the Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed here. From the health care system perspective, universal vaccination of infants is predicted to be cost-effective, based on current standards.

Cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean: a regional analysis

OBJECTIVE To conduct a comprehensive review of data on pneumococcal disease incidence in Latin America and the Caribbean and project the annual number of pneumococcal disease episodes and deaths among children < 5 years of age in the region. METHODS We carried out a systematic review (1990 to 2006) on the burden of pneumococcal disease in children < 5 years of age in the region. We summarized annual incidence rates and case fatality ratios using medians and interquartile ranges for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) (including all-IPD and separately abstracting pneumococcal meningitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, and sepsis data), pneumonia (all cause and radiologically confirmed), and acute otitis media by age group: < 1 year, < 2 years, and < 5 years. We modeled age-specific cumulative incidence of disease obtained from standard Kaplan-Meier analysis and projected data to obtain regional estimates of disease burden. We adjusted burden estimates by serotype coverage, vaccination coverage, and vaccine efficacy to estimate the number of cases and deaths averted. RESULTS Of 5 998 citations identified, 26 papers from 10 countries were included. The estimated annual burden of pneumonia, meningitis, and acute otitis media caused by pneumococcus in children < 5 years of age ranged from 980 000 to 1 500 000, 2 600 to 6 800, and 980 000 to 1 500 000, respectively. An estimated 12 000 to 28 000 deaths due to pneumococcal disease occur in the region annually. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could save 1 life per 1 100 and prevent 1 case per 13 children vaccinated. CONCLUSION A substantial burden of pneumococcal disease in the region is potentially preventable with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and should be considered in regional vaccine decision making. Results are limited by the very few studies, conducted in selected settings, included in this review.

Economic and health burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis for the 2003 birth cohort in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries

OBJECTIVE In Latin America and the Caribbean, routine vaccination of infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae would need substantial investment by governments and donor organizations. Policymakers need information about the projected health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of vaccination when considering these investments. Our aim was to incorporate vaccine, demographic, epidemiologic, and cost data into an economic analysis of pneumococcal vaccination of infants in Latin America and the Caribbean. METHODS We previously used a structured literature review to develop regional estimates of the incidence of disease. Cost data were collected from physician interviews and public fee schedules. We then constructed a decision analytic model to compare pneumococcal conjugate vaccination of infants with no vaccination across this region, examining only vaccines direct effects on children. RESULTS Pneumococcal vaccination at the rate of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine coverage was projected to prevent 9 500 deaths per year in children aged 0 to 5 years in the region, or approximately one life saved per 1 100 infants vaccinated. These saved lives as well as averted cases of deafness, motor deficit, and seizure result in 321 000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) being averted annually. At vaccine prices between US

Estimating the cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Brazil

5 and US

Economic impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay

53 per dose, the cost per DALY averted from a societal perspective would range from US

Potential cost effectiveness of a rotavirus vaccine in Chile

154 to US

Evaluating the costs of pneumococcal disease in selected Latin American countries

5 252. CONCLUSION Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was highly cost-effective up to

Economic impact of a rotavirus vaccination program in Mexico

40 per dose. Introduction of pneumococcal vaccine in the Latin American and Caribbean region is projected to reduce childhood mortality and to be highly cost-effective across a range of possible costs.

Evaluación del impacto económico de la vacuna antirrotavírica en Venezuela

OBJECTIVE To estimate the health and economic burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in hospital and outpatient settings in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela). METHODS An economic model was constructed using epidemiological data from published articles, national health administration studies, and country-specific cost estimates. For each of the eight countries, the model estimated the rotavirus outcomes for the 2003 birth cohort during the first five years of life. The main outcome measures included health care costs, transportation costs, lost wages, and disease burden expressed in disability-adjusted life years. Estimates were expressed in 2003 US dollars. All future costs and disability-adjusted life year estimates were discounted at a rate of 3%. Sensitivity analyses evaluated the impact of specific variables on the medical cost of treating rotavirus. RESULTS For every 1,000 children born during 2003 in the eight Latin American and Caribbean countries studied here, we estimated that rotavirus gastroenteritis would result in an average of 246 outpatient visits, 24 hospitalizations, 0.6 deaths, and 7,971 US dollars in direct medical costs during their first five years of life. The incidence of rotavirus-associated outpatient visits and the cost of outpatient visits were predicted to have the largest impact on the total medical cost per child. CONCLUSIONS Rotavirus gastroenteritis is likely to result in substantial disease and economic burden to health systems in Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the foreseeable burden should be an important consideration in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of vaccination.