Economic evaluation of oral ofloxacin versus standard parenteral therapy in the treatment of pneumonia

The purpose of this study was to examine how inpatient use of oral ofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, affects utilisation of healthcare resources in the treatment of pneumonia. We collected data via chart review from a recent multicentre trial that randomised hospitalised adult patients with pneumonia to oral ofloxacin or standard parenteral therapy of the investigators' choice. We followed a total of 126 patients from randomisation until rule-out of pneumonia, death, loss to follow-up, or 30 days following cure, whichever occurred first. For each patient, we collected data on all inpatient antibiotic usage, duration of stay in hospital, and the utilisation of selected healthcare services following discharge from hospital. While length of stay did not differ between ofloxacin and standard-therapy patients (9.2 vs 11.1 days, respectively; p = 0.28), the cost of inhospital antibiotic therapy for those who received ofloxacin was one-fifth that of patients who were randomised to parenteral therapy ($US47 vs $US268). Costs of outpatient antibiotic therapy were slightly higher for the group receiving ofloxacin ($US26 vs $US3). No difference was noted in the rate of hospital readmission during follow-up. Our study therefore suggests that the use of oral ofloxacin among inpatients with pneumonia reduces the costs of antibiotic treatment compared to standard parenteral therapy.