Rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa; today, according to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of the disease is 40% of the world's population. Allergic rhinitis is the most common type of chronic rhinitis, affecting 10–20% of the world's population, and the severity of the disease is associated with a significant deterioration in the quality of life, sleep and performance. Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa caused by exposure to an allergen, causing IgE-mediated inflammation. Clinically, the disease is characterized by the following main symptoms: rhinorrhea, sneezing, itching and nasal congestion. Despite the general symptoms of allergic rhinitis, its impact on the quality of life of patients and the significant cost of treatment, including pharmacotherapy, many patients do not adhere to drug treatment regimens due to their insufficient effectiveness in eliminating the emerging symptoms. Pharmacoeconomic research identifies, measures and compares the costs and effects of drug use. This framework includes research methods related to cost minimization, cost-effectiveness, decision analysis, cost of illness, and patient quality of life. This article will consider one of the four main methods for assessing pharmacoeconomics - cost minimization analysis. A cost-minimization analysis is a pharmacoeconomic assessment by comparing the costs of two or more drug alternatives regardless of outcome. Since the pharmaceutical market is represented by a wide range of original, reference and generic drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, an important aspect of our research is the selection of effective and economically acceptable therapy for outpatients.
Parecoxib versus ketoprophene, ketorolac, and tenoxicam in acute post-surgical pain management: a cost-minimization analysis from the private hospital perspective in Brazil
