OBJECTIVES : Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common infectious diseases and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is defined as an acute lower airway infection, caused by viruses, fungi or bacteria, which develops in patients not exposed to hospital settings or health facilities. Therefore, the choice of initial antibiotic therapy is pivotal to achieve early response and possibly early discharge, and thus reducing hospital expenditure. Considering this scenario were developed a cost–consequence for ceftaroline fosamil in the perspective of Brazilian private healthcare system (BPHS).

METHODS : The model was adapted to simulate the use of ceftaroline fosamil in comparison with empiric intravenous antibiotic therapy (ceftriaxone, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, moxifloxacin, levofloxacin) for a hypothetical cohort of 100 adult patients admitted in hospital with moderate to severe CAP (including pneumococcal pneumonia) in the BPHS.

RESULTS : The analysis demonstrated that the use of ceftaroline fosamil as initial antibiotic treatment versus the comparators for CAP treatment may represent a significant reduction in total treatment cost, mainly due to the reduction in length of stay. It is important to note that this cost reduction was sufficient to offset the higher cost of acquiring ceftaroline fosamil as the initial antibiotic therapy. Cost-savings ranged from BRL 159,000 when compared to ceftriaxone, to BRL 531,000 when compared to levofloxacin. An increase in total costs could be observed when compared to amoxicillin + clavulanic acid and moxifloxacin, possibly due to differences in comparison and limitations in the initial response criteria presented in the literature for these comparators.

CONCLUSIONS : Ceftaroline fosamil demonstrated potential as an initial antibiotic therapy when compared to alternative therapies for patients with moderate to severe CAP (including pneumococcal pneumonia), as it can result in an increase in early response and a decrease in total costs for the BPHS.