**1. Introduction**

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease, but not a disease of the past. After disappearing from the world public health agenda in the 1960s and 1970s, TB returned in the early 1990s for several reasons, including the emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the increase in drug resistance. More than 100 years after the discovery of the tubercle bacillus by Robert Koch, what is the status of TB control worldwide? The evolution of global TB control poli‐ cies, including DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy, Short course) and the Stop TB Strategy, and assess whether the challenges and obstacles faced by the public health community worldwide in developing and implementing this strategy can aid future action towards the elimination of TB.(Lienhardt, Glaziou et al. 2012) The report of the Commission on Macro‐ economics and Health of the World Health Organization has emphasized that tuberculosis is the most common of the infectious diseases. Tuberculosis is one of the most important health problems in the world, causing 1.4 million deaths each year, in 2011. (WHO, 2010)

The most of TB cases (82%) was concentrated in 22 countries around the world. In the year of 2010, in Brazil were detected 81946 cases, with 5000 death (WHO, 2010).

In Rio Grande do Sul, a state in extreme south of Brazil, the incidence of TB in 2011 was 46,1 per 100.000, with 4947 new cases. Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul shows inci‐ dence of 116 in 2009.(Sul 2011; Brazil 2012)

Tuberculosis is the first cause of death in patients with AIDS in Brazil. Patients with co-in‐ fection HIV/TB have had in treatment of Tuberculosis probability of worst outcome.

Rio Grande do Sul, has had the major incidence of TB/HIV co-infection. The co-infection adversely affects the lives of individuals in both the biological and psychosocial aspects. (Neves, Canini et al. 2012)

© 2013 Scherer; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Some factors can be considered as risk factors for co-infection of TB and HIV, as the im‐ poverishment of the population, use of injecting drugs, the disruption of services on the epidemiology of TB control, the delay in the diagnosis of TB and increased risk of ac‐ quiring multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB), essentially associated to the expansion of the disease in the world.(Kritski, Lapa e Silva et al. 1998). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major clinical challenge, particularly in patients with human immunodefi‐ ciency virus (HIV) co-infection.(Nathanson, Nunn et al. ; Farley, Ram et al. 2011; Arjo‐ mandzadegan, Titov et al. 2012; Jain, Dixit et al. 2012; Udwadia 2012)

pay for medications and treatment, given that this service is offered by the State, the costs to families related to loss of income due to the disease were very high. The propor‐ tion of public service funds utilized for prevention is small. Greater investment in pre‐ vention campaigns not only might diminish the numbers of cases but also might lead to earlier diagnosis, thus reducing the costs associated with hospitalization. The lack of an integrated cost accounting system makes it impossible to visualize costs across the vari‐

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To make rational decisions about the implementation of new tools in the medical routine, cost-effectiveness studies are essential(Mitarai, Kurashima et al. 2001; Kivihya-Ndugga, van

A key step in cost-effectiveness analysis is to identify and value cost. The economic concept of opportunity cost is central to cost-effectiveness analysis. When a public health agency spends money to provide health care, this money is not available for housing, education, highway construction, or as a reduction in income taxes. When a health care organization spends money for bone transplantation, this money is not available for example for mam‐ mography outreach or something. When an elderly man spends time being vaccinated for influenza, this time is not available to play golf or to work. An overall conceptual goal in cost-effectiveness analysis is comprehensive identification of all costs of the intervention and

Contributors to cost must be identified before the costs can be valued. The terms used to de‐ scribe the contributors to cost (e.g. direct costs, indirected costs, opportunity costs) are used

The definition of cost terms is the opportunity cost is the value of resources in an alter‐ native use, the direct cost is the value of all goods, services, and other resources con‐ sumed in the provision of an intervation or in dealing with the side effects or other current and future consequence linked to it and the productivity costs are the costs asso‐ ciated with lost or impaired ability to work or engage in leisure activities and lost eco‐ nomic productivity due to death attributable to the disease. These costs have been substituted for indirect costs. There are several categories of direct costs. The first catego‐ ry of total direct cost is direct health cost, this category include costs with tests, drugs, supplies, personnel, equipment, rent, depreciation, utilities, maintenance and support services. The second category of total direct cost is direct non- health care cost, these cost include for example the cost to patients to partake of the intervention e.g., transporta‐ tion, child care, parking). The third category of total direct cost is the cost of informal caregiver time, this is the monetary value of the time of family members or volunteers who provide home care. The fourth category of total direct cost is the cost is the cost of the use of patient time. Such studies provide insight into the composition of different cost components, which may be the most important factor from the patient and the health service's perspectives. Recent studies have compared the cost effectiveness of news tools for diagnosis, treatment and control in Tuberculosis.(Amicosante, Ciccozzi et al. ; Kowada, Deshpande et al. ; Baltussen, Floyd et al. 2005; Barbieri, Wong et al. 2005; Bachmann 2006; Dwolatzky, Trengove et al. 2006; Kominski, Varon et al. 2007; Kowada,

in different ways in different textbooks and in published cost-effectiveness analysis.

ous sectors.(Costa, Santos et al. 2005)

its alternative, including all of the opportunity costs.

Cleeff et al. 2003; Hazbon 2004).

For the above, in recent years became consensus that the epidemic of TB in developing countries demands the evaluation of broader approaches, described in the Plan STOP-TB/OMS control global TB 2006-2015.

Among them have been prioritizing the implementation of:

a) improvements in access to diagnostic system user health; b) culture for mycobacteria in every patient suspected of TB and HIV positive and all TB patients in retreatment; c) sensi‐ tivity test for suspected cases of resistant TB (retreatment cases, treatment failure, contact MDR-TB or have been treated at the Health Unit with a high rate TB-MDR/XDR); d) review and economic evaluation under routine conditions of deployment of new technologies (phe‐ notypic or molecular, automated or not) for the early diagnosis of TB, resistant TB patients with paucibacillary TB, HIV-infected or suspected drug-resistant TB.

Early detection of tuberculosis (TB) is essential for infection control. Rapid clinical diagnosis is more challenging in patients who have co-morbidities, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Direct microscopy has low sensitivity and culture takes 3 to 6 weeks (Sharma, Mohan et al. 2005; WHO 2006). Diagnostic testing for tuberculosis has remained unchanged for nearly a century, but newer technologies hold promise for a revolution in tu‐ berculosis diagnostics. Tests such as the nucleic acid amplification assays commercial and in house technologies allow more rapid and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmo‐ nary tuberculosis.(Rodrigues Vde, Queiroz Mello et al. 2002; Sanchez, Rossetti et al. 2006; Scherer, Sperhacke et al. 2007; Scherer, Sperhacke et al. 2011; Hida, Hisada et al. 2012). Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) is actually a promising new rapid diagnostic technology for tuberculosis (TB) which has characteristics that suggests large-scale roll-out.(Vassall, van Kampen et al. 2011). In developing countries, *in house* Polymerase Rhain reaction (PCR) based on amplify‐ ing the IS*6110* insertion element can be used for the amplification of *Mycobacterium tuberculo‐ sis* (MTB) DNA and offers the potential of a sensitive, specific and rapid diagnostic for ruling out or considering pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) (Mehrotra, Metz et al. 2002; Sar‐ miento, Weigle et al. 2003; Schijman, Losso et al. 2004; Flores, Pai et al. 2005).

The appropriate and affordable use of any of these tests depends on the setting in which they are employed (Perkins 2000; Brodie and Schluger 2005). New tools for TB diagnosis, treatment and control are necessary, especially in health settings with a high prevalence of HIV/TB co-infection.

Although TB is one the greatest causes of mortality worldwide, its economic effects are not well known, especially in Brazil. Despite the fact that the families did not have to pay for medications and treatment, given that this service is offered by the State, the costs to families related to loss of income due to the disease were very high. The propor‐ tion of public service funds utilized for prevention is small. Greater investment in pre‐ vention campaigns not only might diminish the numbers of cases but also might lead to earlier diagnosis, thus reducing the costs associated with hospitalization. The lack of an integrated cost accounting system makes it impossible to visualize costs across the vari‐ ous sectors.(Costa, Santos et al. 2005)

Some factors can be considered as risk factors for co-infection of TB and HIV, as the im‐ poverishment of the population, use of injecting drugs, the disruption of services on the epidemiology of TB control, the delay in the diagnosis of TB and increased risk of ac‐ quiring multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB), essentially associated to the expansion of the disease in the world.(Kritski, Lapa e Silva et al. 1998). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major clinical challenge, particularly in patients with human immunodefi‐ ciency virus (HIV) co-infection.(Nathanson, Nunn et al. ; Farley, Ram et al. 2011; Arjo‐

For the above, in recent years became consensus that the epidemic of TB in developing countries demands the evaluation of broader approaches, described in the Plan STOP-

a) improvements in access to diagnostic system user health; b) culture for mycobacteria in every patient suspected of TB and HIV positive and all TB patients in retreatment; c) sensi‐ tivity test for suspected cases of resistant TB (retreatment cases, treatment failure, contact MDR-TB or have been treated at the Health Unit with a high rate TB-MDR/XDR); d) review and economic evaluation under routine conditions of deployment of new technologies (phe‐ notypic or molecular, automated or not) for the early diagnosis of TB, resistant TB patients

Early detection of tuberculosis (TB) is essential for infection control. Rapid clinical diagnosis is more challenging in patients who have co-morbidities, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Direct microscopy has low sensitivity and culture takes 3 to 6 weeks (Sharma, Mohan et al. 2005; WHO 2006). Diagnostic testing for tuberculosis has remained unchanged for nearly a century, but newer technologies hold promise for a revolution in tu‐ berculosis diagnostics. Tests such as the nucleic acid amplification assays commercial and in house technologies allow more rapid and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmo‐ nary tuberculosis.(Rodrigues Vde, Queiroz Mello et al. 2002; Sanchez, Rossetti et al. 2006; Scherer, Sperhacke et al. 2007; Scherer, Sperhacke et al. 2011; Hida, Hisada et al. 2012). Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) is actually a promising new rapid diagnostic technology for tuberculosis (TB) which has characteristics that suggests large-scale roll-out.(Vassall, van Kampen et al. 2011). In developing countries, *in house* Polymerase Rhain reaction (PCR) based on amplify‐ ing the IS*6110* insertion element can be used for the amplification of *Mycobacterium tuberculo‐ sis* (MTB) DNA and offers the potential of a sensitive, specific and rapid diagnostic for ruling out or considering pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) (Mehrotra, Metz et al. 2002; Sar‐

mandzadegan, Titov et al. 2012; Jain, Dixit et al. 2012; Udwadia 2012)

Among them have been prioritizing the implementation of:

with paucibacillary TB, HIV-infected or suspected drug-resistant TB.

miento, Weigle et al. 2003; Schijman, Losso et al. 2004; Flores, Pai et al. 2005).

The appropriate and affordable use of any of these tests depends on the setting in which they are employed (Perkins 2000; Brodie and Schluger 2005). New tools for TB diagnosis, treatment and control are necessary, especially in health settings with a high prevalence of

Although TB is one the greatest causes of mortality worldwide, its economic effects are not well known, especially in Brazil. Despite the fact that the families did not have to

TB/OMS control global TB 2006-2015.

430 Tuberculosis - Current Issues in Diagnosis and Management

HIV/TB co-infection.

To make rational decisions about the implementation of new tools in the medical routine, cost-effectiveness studies are essential(Mitarai, Kurashima et al. 2001; Kivihya-Ndugga, van Cleeff et al. 2003; Hazbon 2004).

A key step in cost-effectiveness analysis is to identify and value cost. The economic concept of opportunity cost is central to cost-effectiveness analysis. When a public health agency spends money to provide health care, this money is not available for housing, education, highway construction, or as a reduction in income taxes. When a health care organization spends money for bone transplantation, this money is not available for example for mam‐ mography outreach or something. When an elderly man spends time being vaccinated for influenza, this time is not available to play golf or to work. An overall conceptual goal in cost-effectiveness analysis is comprehensive identification of all costs of the intervention and its alternative, including all of the opportunity costs.

Contributors to cost must be identified before the costs can be valued. The terms used to de‐ scribe the contributors to cost (e.g. direct costs, indirected costs, opportunity costs) are used in different ways in different textbooks and in published cost-effectiveness analysis.

The definition of cost terms is the opportunity cost is the value of resources in an alter‐ native use, the direct cost is the value of all goods, services, and other resources con‐ sumed in the provision of an intervation or in dealing with the side effects or other current and future consequence linked to it and the productivity costs are the costs asso‐ ciated with lost or impaired ability to work or engage in leisure activities and lost eco‐ nomic productivity due to death attributable to the disease. These costs have been substituted for indirect costs. There are several categories of direct costs. The first catego‐ ry of total direct cost is direct health cost, this category include costs with tests, drugs, supplies, personnel, equipment, rent, depreciation, utilities, maintenance and support services. The second category of total direct cost is direct non- health care cost, these cost include for example the cost to patients to partake of the intervention e.g., transporta‐ tion, child care, parking). The third category of total direct cost is the cost of informal caregiver time, this is the monetary value of the time of family members or volunteers who provide home care. The fourth category of total direct cost is the cost is the cost of the use of patient time. Such studies provide insight into the composition of different cost components, which may be the most important factor from the patient and the health service's perspectives. Recent studies have compared the cost effectiveness of news tools for diagnosis, treatment and control in Tuberculosis.(Amicosante, Ciccozzi et al. ; Kowada, Deshpande et al. ; Baltussen, Floyd et al. 2005; Barbieri, Wong et al. 2005; Bachmann 2006; Dwolatzky, Trengove et al. 2006; Kominski, Varon et al. 2007; Kowada, Takahashi et al. 2008; Rosen, Taylor et al. 2010; Shi, Hodges et al. 2010; Vassall, van Kampen et al. 2011; Fitzpatrick and Floyd 2012; Lienhardt, Raviglione et al. 2012; Manda‐ lakas, Hesseling et al. 2012). In a recent study we compared the cost-effectiveness of di‐ rect microscopy by Ziehl Neelsen staining (AFB smear) with *in house* polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and with culture on the first sputum specimen collection, including staff costs, using culture and clinical evaluation as the gold standard (Scherer, Sperhacke et al. 2009). In contrast to the cost-effectiveness analysis described by van Cleef et al. in a ref‐ erence ambulatory clinic in Kenya, where only culture for mycobacteria was used as the gold standard (Roos, van Cleeff et al. 1998; van Cleeff, Kivihya-Ndugga et al. 2005). The cost-effectiveness of the AFB smear plus PCR dot-blot strategy described in recent study was similar to other strategies, when lower TB prevalence made PCR more expensive for diagnosis of PTB (Roos, van Cleeff et al. 1998; van Cleeff, Kivihya-Ndugga et al. 2005). (Scherer et. aL., 2009).

cases of resistant bacteria to different types of chemotherapy. (Polansky, Dymer et al. 1968; Garcia Rodriguez, Marino Callejo et al. 1994; Weis, Foresman et al. 1999; Gomes, Soares et al. 2003; Elamin, Ibrahim et al. 2008; Kik, Olthof et al. 2009; Steffen, Menzies et al. 2010; Vassall,

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Costs of TB diagnosis and treatment may represent a significant burden for the poor and for the health system in resource-poor countries. Costs incurred by TB patients are high in Rio de Janeiro, especially for those under DOT. The DOT strategy doubles patients' costs and in‐ creases by fourfold the health system costs per completed treatment. The additional costs for DOT may be one of the contributing factors to the completion rates below the targeted 85%

Even in a country with a good health insurance system that covers medication and con‐ sultation costs, patients do have substantial extra expenditures. Furthermore, our patients lost on average 2.7 months of productive days. TB patients are economically vulnerable.

In Brazil, the real costs of TB are estimated or poorly known and the overall costs of TB are not perceived by governments, given the fragmentation in the involvement of the three gov‐

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the direct and indirect costs for diagnosis and treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in patients infected or not by HIV, admitted to a Hos‐

In order to describe the costs of Health system of Brazil, we evaluate the costs directs of di‐ agnosis and treatment of screening of 1000 hypothetical patients suspects of Pulmonary Tu‐ berculosis in according with clinical and laboratory Brazilian recommendations for

The cost components for each clinical and laboratory procedures of screening included costs incurred by the patient, laboratory costs, drugs, consumables and equipment costs. The strategy for screening was the same recommended for Brazilian Public Health System.

Clinical, radiological and laboratory staff costs were calculated from the salary base of Rio

For each procedure, costs were attributed based on procedure costs of the Brazilian Public

Running costs (material costs were used for each 1000 tests evaluated) included all laborato‐

All costs were expressed in US\$, using an exchange rate of US\$ 1= R\$ 1,72 (REAIS), the aver‐ age exchange rate from 2010 to 2011. In the treatment costs, those were evaluated related to

Seme et al. 2010; Pereira, Barreto et al. 2012)

ernmental levels: local, state and national.

**2. Costs of health system of Brazil**

treatment (Tuberculose 2004; Conde, Melo et al. 2009).

Grande do Sul (State of Extreme South of Brazi) in 2011.

(Kik, Olthof et al. 2009)

pital Unit of Public Health.

Health System.

ry materials used in procedures.

recommended by WHO (Steffen, Menzies et al. 2010).

The mathematical models may be particularly useful for predicting the long term tenden‐ cy of occurrence of the infection or disease. These models can simulate situations epide‐ miological and preventive or curative interventions beyond their theoretical impact in reducing the problem. Such predictive models properly formulated and fed with consis‐ tent data, may assist the processes of planning and management in public health. Cur‐ rently several strategies have allowed the use of Multiple Logistic Regression (MLR) in the construction of predictive models. Models of decisions trees are also used for classifi‐ cation decision making or to provide a decision algorithm for the clinical management of infectious diseases.(Aguiar, Almeida et al. 2012)

For developing countries, the emergence of continuous technological innovation represents a double burden. The rapid diffusion of scientific and technical information that are ob‐ served now and monetary action multinational companies create a local demand for innova‐ tion by health professionals, the media and more informed portions of the population, which further strains the health care system.

Many factors limit the realization of a health technology assessment (HTA) analysis, as the lack of human resources, infrastructure or budget or due to lack of evidence or infor‐ mation costs.

Another obvious problem is that often decisions are based on scientific evidence coming from developed countries and often in settings where the incidence of disease differs effu‐ sively of Brazilian and Latin American scenario.

Given this scenario health managers are often between two objectives: they have to in‐ corporate new and more costly technologies to improve the health of the population and at the same time are responsible for the financial sustainability and access equity of this in the system health.(Project 2005)

Beyond the suffering caused directly by the disease, TB is requiring significant portions of the public budget in developing countries. It is estimated that by 2015 they will be required investments around \$12 billion for control of diseases such as AIDS, TB and Malaria. The increased costs involved in care and control of TB are due also to the increasing number of cases of resistant bacteria to different types of chemotherapy. (Polansky, Dymer et al. 1968; Garcia Rodriguez, Marino Callejo et al. 1994; Weis, Foresman et al. 1999; Gomes, Soares et al. 2003; Elamin, Ibrahim et al. 2008; Kik, Olthof et al. 2009; Steffen, Menzies et al. 2010; Vassall, Seme et al. 2010; Pereira, Barreto et al. 2012)

Costs of TB diagnosis and treatment may represent a significant burden for the poor and for the health system in resource-poor countries. Costs incurred by TB patients are high in Rio de Janeiro, especially for those under DOT. The DOT strategy doubles patients' costs and in‐ creases by fourfold the health system costs per completed treatment. The additional costs for DOT may be one of the contributing factors to the completion rates below the targeted 85% recommended by WHO (Steffen, Menzies et al. 2010).

Even in a country with a good health insurance system that covers medication and con‐ sultation costs, patients do have substantial extra expenditures. Furthermore, our patients lost on average 2.7 months of productive days. TB patients are economically vulnerable. (Kik, Olthof et al. 2009)

In Brazil, the real costs of TB are estimated or poorly known and the overall costs of TB are not perceived by governments, given the fragmentation in the involvement of the three gov‐ ernmental levels: local, state and national.

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the direct and indirect costs for diagnosis and treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in patients infected or not by HIV, admitted to a Hos‐ pital Unit of Public Health.
