Costs of multidrug-resistant TB treatment in Finland and Estonia affected by the 2019 WHO guidelines

BACKGROUND:

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a growing problem in the effort to end the global TB epidemic. In 2019, the WHO adopted a new standardised regiment for MDR-TB, consisting of only oral medications.

METHODS:

We estimated the impact of the new guidelines on the costs of TB treatment in Estonia and Finland. For both countries, the costs of the two most common new drug regimens were calculated, including drug costs, as well as care- and monitoring-related costs.

RESULTS:

In Turku, Finland, treatment costs with the old regimen were €178,714; this could either increase by 10% or decrease by 18%, depending on the duration of bedaquiline use (6 months vs. 20 months). In Estonia, treatment costs with the old regimen were €33,664, whereas the new regimens were associated with a 40% increase in overall costs.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 2019 WHO guidelines have led to significant changes in the costs of MDR-TB treatment in Finland and Estonia. These changes depend mostly on the drug regimen administered and on care-related practices, with important differences between countries and even within the same country due to local practices.

The remediation of mold damaged school--a three-year follow-up study on teachers' health

The health effects in teachers of a mold-damaged school before and during an extensive remediation process were assessed. Health data were collected with self-administered questionnaires from teachers (n=31) working in a moisture and mold damaged school and from the reference group of teachers (n=13) working in a non-damaged school. The questionnaire study was repeated three times. Spirometry was measured in 33 individuals in the spring 1997 and repeated in the spring 1999 and 2000. In the damaged school, a cluster of eight asthma cases was identified, the prevalence of asthma being 26%. Before the remediation, the number of sinusitis episodes was higher (p=0.040) and the mean duration of sick leaves longer (p=0.015) among the study group than in the reference group. A higher prevalence of hoarseness and perceived poor quality of indoor air were reported. During the follow-up, no new asthma cases appeared. After the remediation, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, symptoms of allergic rhinitis and the sum of respiratory infection episodes decreased significantly. Some of the asthmatics had low values in the spirometry but no changes in the lung function were observed at the group level. The remediation of the mold damage had beneficial effects on teachers' health.