These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Cost-benefit analysis of a prenatal preventive programme against congenital syphilis.
    Author: Stray-Pedersen B.
    Journal: NIPH Ann; 1980 May; 3(1):57-66. PubMed ID: 6779243.
    Abstract:
    Serologic screening of pregnant women to prevent congenital syphilis has been obligatory in Norway since 1948. Today the incidence of unrecognized, untreated maternal syphilis is approximately 0.2 per 1000 pregnancies. A cost-benefit model is applied to the current prenatal screening programme in Norway. Although may of the benefit parameters are given only an approximate value, or are not valued at all, it was found that the benefit-cost ratio was nearly 2 (1.9), indicating that the economic benefits or savings to the society represent twice the cost of the preventive programme. A cost-benefit analysis of Norway's serologic screening program to prevent congenital syphilis is presented. This screening has been obligatory for pregnant women since 1948. The frequency of unrecognized maternal syphilis in Norway is estimated at 0.02%, indicating that 10 pregnancies/year are at risk. If maternal infection is not treated, these pregnancies are assumed to result in 2 uninfected infants, 4 spontaneous abortions or fetal deaths, and 4 congenitally infected infants. 2 of the infected infants will require lifetime institutional care and 2 will need special education or training. The monetary cost of an untreated, undetected syphilis infection in pregnancy encompasses both direct costs (for longterm institutional or medical care, special education and rehabilitation of children with deformities or retardation) and indirect costs (loss of economic productivity attributable to the disease as a result of death or disability). When the cost of education for normal children is subtracted from the cost for the special care and training programs for infected children, a savings of Nkr 932,800 in direct costs results. The difference between the assumed future economic productivity of children with and without the preventive program (indirect cost) is Nkr 455,800. Thus, the total economic benefit resulting from the syphilis screening program is approximately Nkr 1,388,600 for 1 year. The total cost of a 1-year screening program for the detection, treatment, and follow-up of congenital syphilis equals Nkr 719,200, yielding a cost-benefit ratio of 1.9. Even if indirect costs are excluded, the benefit in direct costs exceeds the program costs. Moreover, the cost-benefit ratio in this analysis is considered to be a conservative estimate since a discount rate of 10% was used in calculations of future income and public resources help; the Ministry of Finance has recommended a discount rate of 7%. The net savings to society indicate that the obligatory screenings should continue. In addition to economic benefits, the program provides systematic tracing of asymptomatic cases and their contacts and prevents epidemic outbreaks of syphilis.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]