Domestic vs. Imported Cefepime Injections for Urinary Tract Infection: Cost-minimization Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy,ADRs,and costs of domestic vs.imported cefepime injections in the treatment of urinary infection.METHODS: A randomized,parallel controlled,multicenter,single blind trial was conducted in patients with urinary tract infection in several hospitals(with subjects not knowing the fact) with import cefepime injections as control.A total of 122 cases were included in our analysis of curative effects: the subjects in the trial group(n=61) were assigned to receive 2g cefepime domestic cefepime injection and the control group(n=61) were to receive 2g imported cefepime injection by intravenous drip within 60min bid for 7-14 days.A cost-minimization analysis was conducted for the pharmacoeconomic evaluation.RESULTS: There were no significant differences in clinical effective rate,clearance rate of bacterias,incidences of ADRs between the two groups,but the cost of domestic cefepime was 18.9% lower than the imported one.CONCLUSION: The domestic cefepime injection is equivalent to its imported counterpart in efficacy,but is cheaper.