Mukora, R; Tlali, M; Monkwe, S; Charalambous, S; Karat, AS; Fielding, KL; Grant, AD; Vassall, A; (2018) Cost of point-of-care lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan antigen testing in HIV-positive adults in South Africa. The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease, 22 (9). pp. 1082-1087. ISSN 1027-3719 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.18.0046
Permanent Identifier
Use this Digital Object Identifier when citing or linking to this resource.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization recommends point-of-care (POC) lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan (LF-LAM) for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in selected human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive people. South Africa had 438 000 new TB episodes in 2016, 58.9% of which were contributed by HIV-positive people. LF-LAM is being considered for scale-up in South Africa. METHODS: We estimated the costs of using LF-LAM in HIV-positive adults with CD4 counts 150 cells/μl enrolled in the TB Fast Track Trial in South Africa. We also estimated costs of POC haemoglobin (Hb), as this was used in the study algorithm. Data on clinic-level (10 intervention clinics) and above-clinic-level costs were collected. RESULTS: A total of 1307 LF-LAM tests were performed at 10 clinics over 24 months. The mean clinic-level costs were US$12.80 per patient for LF-LAM and POC Hb; LF-LAM costs were US$11.49 per patient. The mean above-clinic-level unit costs for LF-LAM were US$12.06 for clinic preparation, training, coordination and mentoring. The mean total cost of LF-LAM was US$23.55 per patient. CONCLUSION: At clinic level, the cost of LF-LAM was comparable to other TB diagnostics in South Africa. It is important to consider above-clinic-level costs for POC tests, as these may be required to support roll-out and ensure successful implementation.
Download
Filename: Cost-of-point-of-care-lateral-flow-urine-lipoarabinomannan-antigen-testing.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0
Download