Author(s): Figueredo,Lida Jouca de Assis ; 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
Date: 2020
Origin: Oasisbr
Subject(s): 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.
