OBJECTIVES: Drugs used in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which form part of Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) are usually expensive and may have serious side effects. The objective of this study was to compare the costs and adverse events of a new therapeutic agent, Rilpivirine, with an established agent, Efavirenz, used in the treatment of HIV, both of which form part of HAART among treatment naïve patients. METHODS: Decision tree analysis was used to compare the direct medical costs of using Rilpivirine versus Efavirenz in HAART from the societal perspective. Drug costs were obtained from an online drug information source and Red Book 2008. Base case probabilities of having an adverse event were obtained from a published clinical trial comparing Rilpivirine versus Efavirenz (Nϭ690). Costs for treating adverse events were obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Database (2008). All costs were converted into 2011 US dollars. Sensitivity analyses were performed to determine the effects of variations in assumptions regarding drug costs and costs for treating adverse events on study results. All analyses were conducted using the 2011 TreeAge Pro Software. RESULTS: The analyses showed that Rilpivirine
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