The cost of antiretroviral therapy in Haiti

Table 1 Direct treatment utilization and costs for the total cohort (n = 218)

	Mean utilization per patient for the 1^st year of ART	Median utilization (IQ range) per patient for the 1^st year of ART	Mean cost per patient for the 1^st year of ART ($US)	Median cost (IQ range) per patient for the 1^st year of ART ($US)
Pre-ART work-up (labor and laboratory studies)	*	*	58	61 (61 to 61)
Labor cost (# of ART visits)	12.6	14 (11 to 16)	51	51 (42 to 61)
CD4 cell counts** (# of tests)	1.1	1 (1 to 1)	32	30 (30 to 30)
ART monitoring labs (# of tests)	9.5	11 (6 to 12)	72	81 (46 to 92)
TB tests (# of tests)	1.7	0 (0 to 3)	8	0 (0 to 14)
Other laboratory tests (# of tests)	2.7	2 (1 to 3)	8	5 (0 to 13)
Chest radiographs (# of x-rays)	0.4	(0 to 1)	10	0 (0 to 24)
Anti-retroviral therapy (# of days on ART)	291	362 (241 to 375)	355	282 (225 to 583)
TB medications (# of days on therapy)	19	0 (0 to 0)	6	0 (0 to 0)
Other medications***	*	*	33	28 (15 to 40)
Outside referrals	0.3	0 (0 to 0)	31	0 (0 to 0)
Hospitalizations	0.1	0 (0 to 0)	62	0 (0 to 0)
Telephone cards	2.4	2.4 (1 to 3)	3	3 (1 to 4)
Nutritional support	*	*	117	140 (0 to 180)
Total (# of days in care)	299	365 (357 to 365)	846	846 (654 to 1075)

IQ range = interquartile range
* No utilization units defined.
** This does not include the baseline CD4 cell count done before the initiation of ART; also, many patients had a 12-month CD4 cell count that was done more than 365 days after ART initiation, and was therefore excluded from the analysis.
*** GHESKIO paid a mean cost of $US 33.69 per patient for other medications (i.e. not including ART or TB drugs). The mean cost per patient for medications purchased outside of GHESKIO was $US 4.31 (median cost of $US 1.23).

ISSN: 1478-7547