Although the NTP has no threshold for cost-effectiveness, our model can provide support for decision makers in Brazil and other countries with a low prevalence of drug resistance among TB patients. Financial benefit can potentially be expected if physicians rely more on a negative Xpert result and empirical treatment is reduced.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of spontaneous vaginal delivery and elective cesarean (with no clinical indication) for normal risk pregnant women, from the perspective of the Brazilian Unified National Health System. An analytical decision model was developed and included the choice of delivery mode and clinical consequences for mothers and newborns, from admission for delivery to hospital discharge. The reference population consisted of normal risk pregnant women with singleton, at-term gestations in cephalic position, subdivided into primiparas and multiparas with prior uterine scar. Cost data were obtained from three public maternity hospitals (two in Rio de Janeiro, one in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil). Direct costs were identified with human resources, hospital inputs, and capital and administrative costs. Effectiveness measures were identified, based on the scientific literature. The study showed that vaginal delivery was more efficient for primiparas, at lower cost (BRL 1,709.58; USD 518.05) than cesarean (BRL 2,245.86; USD 680.56) and greater effectiveness for three of the four target outcomes. For multiparas with prior uterine scar, repeat cesarean was cost-effective for the outcomes averted maternal morbidity, averted uterine rupture, averted neonatal ICU, and averted neonatal death, but the result was not supported by probabilistic sensitivity analysis. For maternal death as the outcome, there was no difference in effectiveness, and labor showed the lowest cost. This study can contribute to the management of perinatal care, expanding measures that encourage adequate delivery according to the population's characteristics.

This study estimated the costs of vaginal delivery and elective cesarean section without clinical indication, for usual risk pregnant women from the perspective of the Brazilian Unified Health System. Data was collected from three public maternity hospitals located in the southeast region of Brazil through visits and interviews with professionals. The cost components were human resources, hospital supplies, capital cost and overhead, which were identified, quantified and valued through the micro-costing method. The costs with vaginal delivery, elective cesarean section and daily hospital charge in rooming for the three maternity hospitals were identified. The mean cost of a vaginal delivery procedure

We estimated the costs of a molecular test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and resistance to rifampin (Xpert MTB/RIF) and of smear microscopy, within the Brazilian Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS, Unified Health Care System). In SUS laboratories in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Manaus, we performed activity-based costing and micro-costing. The mean unit costs for Xpert MTB/RIF and smear microscopy were R$35.57 and R$14.16, respectively. The major cost drivers for Xpert MTB/RIF and smear microscopy were consumables/reagents and staff, respectively. These results might facilitate future cost-effectiveness studies and inform the decision-making process regarding the expansion of Xpert MTB/RIF use in Brazil.