OBJECTIVES: One of the most commonly used antibiotics in South Korea is cefaclor. Cefaclor has been reported to be associated with hypersensitivity reactions such as anaphylaxis, and the most common cause drug of anaphylaxis is cefaclor. This study aimed to investigate the burden of cefaclor hypersensitivity and compare the costs and quality of lives between the severity of the cefaclor hypersensitivity.

METHODS: The results were obtained using a medical record (Ajou, Dong-A University Hospital) [Direct medical cost], a Korea Health Panel Study Version 1.5 and Consumer Price Index from Statistics Korea [Direct non-medical cost]. Also, the EQ-5D survey was conducted in Ajou, Dong-A University Hospital to get the QALYs about cefaclor hypersensitivity. The cost analysis was based on restricted societal perspective. The Student’s t-test was used for comparing the average cost by severity, type of hypersensitivity, the average QALYs by severity and the statistical significance level was 0.05, and Decision tree model was used for cost-utility analysis.

RESULTS: 407 patients’ medical records were used for cost analysis and 17 patients’ EQ-5D survey results were used for calculating the QALYs. The cost of severe case (KRW 956,611; approximately 869 USD) was significantly higher than the cost of mild-to-moderate case (KRW 664,319; approximately 604 USD). (p-value<0.001) And, the value for QALYs was higher for severe case (0.787 QALYs) than for mild-to-moderate case (0.800 QALYs), but not significantly. (p-value=0.832) As a result, ICER for cefaclor hypersensitivity by severity was KRW 71,396,684/QALY (approximately 64,872 USD/QALY).

CONCLUSIONS: Severe case was more expensive to treat than mild-to-moderate. However, Severe case was not cost-effective compared with mild-to-moderate case about cefaclor hypersensitivity. This study had some limitations such as limited QALYs data. Because of that, the study with more patients’ cost and EQ-5D data will be needed.