Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40169384›Full record

ArticleMedical mycology2025

Availability and cost of antifungal therapy in Vietnam: A 5-year retrospective study.

Yee Chin Kwang, Ha Thuy Nguyen, Jan-Willem Alffenaar, Justin Beardsley, Vu Quoc Dat

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical mycology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yee Chin KwangDepartment of Pharmacy, Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga, Australia.ORCID 0009-0000-4714-6339
Ha Thuy NguyenHanoi Medical University Hospital, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Jan-Willem AlffenaarSchool of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6703-0288
Justin BeardsleySydney Infectious Diseases Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1978-1559
Vu Quoc DatHanoi Medical University Hospital, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.ORCID 0000-0002-5904-5970

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Access to antifungal agents for the treatment of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) varies significantly between countries. Limited access or high cost may contribute to the burden of IFIs. We aimed to investigate the availability and cost of antifungal treatment for IFIs in Vietnam. Procurement data from 2018 to 2022 was collected from the Drug Administration of Vietnam website. We calculated the cost per defined daily dose (DDD) and identified the manufacturing countries. We explored the pharmacotherapy cost of the four major IFIs if first-line agents were used in accordance with the Vietnam 2021 antifungal prescribing guideline. We also estimated the treatment expenditure in 2020 based on the estimated disease burden previously published and suggested cost-saving measures. At least 57.6 million USD was spent on 15.5 million DDD of antifungals in 5 years. Seven systemic antifungal agents were available in Vietnam. Caspofungin and micafungin were the least used but most expensive, whereas fluconazole and itraconazole were the most consumed but cheapest antifungals. Vietnam manufactured 70% of azole antifungals and relied on imports for the remaining antifungals consumed. We estimated the first-line pharmacological treatment for the estimated cases of four IFIs in 2020 to cost at least 209.1 million USD, which exceeded the actual spend in 2020. We discovered that antifungal agents for IFIs impose a substantial economic burden on Vietnam's healthcare system. We highlight the need for cost-effectiveness studies of expensive first-line medications. Efforts to mitigate this economic burden should include antifungal stewardship, prevention of IFIs, and sourcing from cost-effective manufacturers.

Indexed as

Antifungal AgentsDrug CostsInvasive Fungal InfectionsHumansItraconazoleRetrospective StudiesVietnamAntifungal AgentsItraconazoleaccessantifungalavailabilitycostvietnam

Identifiers

PMID40169384
PMCPMC12001882

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.