Cost analysis of smear microscopy and the Xpert assay for tuberculosis diagnosis: average turnaround time

• Autor(a) principal: Figueredo,Lida Jouca de Assis
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Miranda,Silvana Spíndola de, Santos,Lucas Benício dos, Manso,Caroline Gontijo Gonçalves, Soares,Valéria Martins, Alves,Suely, Vater,Maria Cláudia, Kritski,Afrânio Lineu, Carvalho,Wânia da Silva, Pádua,Cristiane Menezes de, Almeida,Isabela Neves de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822020000100354
• topic: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Molecular diagnostic; Pulmonary tuberculosis; Cost analysis; Health system

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Rapid and accurate tuberculosis detection is critical for improving patient diagnosis and decreasing tuberculosis transmission. Molecular assays can significantly increase laboratory costs; therefore, the average time and economic impact should be evaluated before implementing a new technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost and average turnaround time of smear microscopy and Xpert assay at a university hospital. METHODS: The turnaround time and cost of the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis were calculated based on the mean cost and activity based costing (ABC). RESULTS: The average turnaround time for smear microscopy was 16.6 hours while that for Xpert was 24.1 hours. The Xpert had a mean cost of USD 17.37 with an ABC of USD 10.86, while smear microscopy had a mean cost of USD 13.31 with an ABC of USD 6.01. The sensitivity of smear microscopy was 42.9% and its specificity was 99.1%, while the Xpert assay had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 96.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The Xpert assay has high accuracy; however, the turnaround time and cost of smear microscopy were lower than those of Xpert.