While we found relatively good st and ards of reporting the study ’s question , population , interventions , comparators and conclusions , the overall reporting was poor , and evidence of unfamiliarity with international guidelines was evident ( i.e. absence of incremental analysis , of discounting long-term costs and effects ) .
Analysis or description of place-to-place variability was infrequent .
Use and acceptance of health economic evaluations ( HEEs ) has been much greater in developed than in developing nations .
Nevertheless , while developing countries lag behind in the development of HEE methods , they could benefit from the progress made in other countries and concentrate on ways in which existing methods can be used or would need to be modified to fulfill their specific needs .
HEEs , as context -specific tools , are not easily generalizable from setting to setting .
Existing studies regarding generalizability and transferability of HEEs have primarily been conducted in developed countries .
Therefore , a legitimate question for policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean region ( LAC ) is to what extent HEEs conducted in industrialized economies and in LAC are generalizable to LAC ( trans-regional ) and to other LAC countries ( intra-regional ) , respectively .
[Cost-effectiveness analysis of ceftriaxone and cefotaxime in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia].
OBJECTIVE To assess the cost-effectiveness ratio of ceftriaxone and cefotaxime to treat moderate to severe community acquired pneumonia ( CAP ) . METHODS A clinical trial was done in five hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social , at the metropolitan area of Mexico City .  Ceftriaxone and cefotaxime were compared to treat moderate to severe CAP , and the costs of purchasing , preparation , administration , hospitalization , and therapeutic success were quantified . Cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated , and sensitivity analysis and incremental analysis were done . RESULTS The main isolated germs were Streptococcus pneumoniae ( 23.6 % ) and Staphylococcus aureus ( 18.5 % ) . Most of the microorganisms were sensitive to ceftriaxone , ceftazidime , and cefotaxime , and were resistant to penicillin , ampicillin , and erythromycin . Therapeutic success was 98 % in the ceftriaxone group and 83 % in the cefotaxime group ( p = 0.0091 ) . Cost-effectiveness ratio for per cent unit of success was $ 19,458.62 Mexican pesos in the ceftriaxone group and $ 29,218.08 in the cefotaxime group . Sensitivity analysis showed consistently a lower cost-effectiveness ratio in the ceftriaxone group . Incremental analysis based on the treatment of 55 patients showed that using ceftriaxone instead of cefotaxime result ed in saving $ 35,170.79 per each additional cured patient . CONCLUSIONS Ceftriaxone has a lower cost-effectiveness ratio than cefotaxime to treat patients with CAP and bad prognosis criteria requiring hospitalization
While we found relatively good st and ards of reporting the study ’s question , population , interventions , comparators and conclusions , the overall reporting was poor , and evidence of unfamiliarity with international guidelines was evident ( i.e. absence of incremental analysis , of discounting long-term costs and effects ) .
Analysis or description of place-to-place variability was infrequent .
Use and acceptance of health economic evaluations ( HEEs ) has been much greater in developed than in developing nations .
Nevertheless , while developing countries lag behind in the development of HEE methods , they could benefit from the progress made in other countries and concentrate on ways in which existing methods can be used or would need to be modified to fulfill their specific needs .
HEEs , as context -specific tools , are not easily generalizable from setting to setting .
Existing studies regarding generalizability and transferability of HEEs have primarily been conducted in developed countries .
Therefore , a legitimate question for policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean region ( LAC ) is to what extent HEEs conducted in industrialized economies and in LAC are generalizable to LAC ( trans-regional ) and to other LAC countries ( intra-regional ) , respectively .