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Letters |15 January 1996

Burkholderia cepacia and Nebulized Albuterol

Richard J. Hamill, MD; Richard M. Cadle, PharmD, PharmD; Maureen A. Koza, RN, CIC

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Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Houston, TX 77030
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IN RESPONSE:
We thank Dr. Scharer for his comments and share his concerns about the use of multiple-dose medications for inhalation therapy. Multiple-dose medication vials are commonly used because they offer reduced drug costs and convenience compared with single-dose vials. In fiscal year 1995, the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center purchased 10 000 multiple-dose bottles (40 doses/bottle) of albuterol for nebulization at a cost of $33 000. This figure translates to a cost of $0.08 per treatment if all 400 000 potential treatments are given. Unit dose vials cost our hospital $0.40 per vial; at this price, the same 400 000 treatments would cost $160 000. Therefore, purchase of multiple-dose bottles of albuterol results in a potential annual savings of $127 000 for this medication alone. These are idealized calculations, and actual savings would probably not be as high; however, in this era of cost containment, it is difficult not to embrace this type of direct savings.
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Hamill RJ, Cadle RM, Koza MA. Burkholderia cepacia and Nebulized Albuterol. Ann Intern Med. ;124:274. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-124-2-199601150-00020

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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1996;124(2):274.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-124-2-199601150-00020

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Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

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