OBJECTIVES : To determine the comparative cost and consequences of antibiotic coated central venous catheters (CVC) versus a non-antibiotic coated CVC based on comparative clinical outcomes in India.

METHODS : A decision tree was approach conceptualized for 1000 catheter days to measure the impact of the coated vs non-coated CVC in India. Input parameters to populate the model used one CRBSI episodic cost, incidence of CRBSI in coated CVC and pooled CRBSI incidence in non-coated CVC and indwelling period in coated, non-coated CVC respectively to estimate total cost due to CRBSI in coated vs non-coated respectively. Inclusion of input parameters such as cost of device and indwelling periods in coated and non-coated device was incorporated to perform budget impact analysis in order to make a decision analytic comparison in costs and consequences between two arms of the decision tree based on CRBSI rate per 1000 catheter days

RESULTS : The overall cost due to CRBSI in coated and non-coated CVC was ₹ 4,215 and ₹ 1,78,052 respectively with percentage saving of 98% in coated CVC. From a budget impact perspective savings of 36.26% was observed with an overall cost incurred of ₹ 5,34,215 and ₹ 8,38,052 in coated and non-coated CVC respectively. Hence, the budget impact was negative thus providing an economic argument to use an antibiotic coated CVC in clinical setting in India.

CONCLUSIONS : Antibiotic coated CVC is cost effective and has a favorable budget impact for consideration in clinical use in India.