Cost-effectiveness of malaria preventive treatment for HIV-infected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND: Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa: at least 1 million pregnancies among HIV-infected women are complicated by co-infection with malaria annually, leading to increased risk of premature delivery, severe anaemia, delivery of low birth weight infants, and maternal death. Current guidelines recommend either daily cotrimoxazole (CTX) or intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) for HIV-infected pregnant women to prevent malaria and its complications. The cost-effectiveness of CTX compared to IPTp-SP among HIV-infected pregnant women was assessed. METHODS: A microsimulation model of malaria and HIV among pregnant women in five malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa was constructed. Four strategies were compared: (1) 2-dose IPTp-SP at current IPTp-SP coverage of the country (“2-IPT Low”); (2) 3-dose IPTp-SP at current coverage (“3-IPT Low”); (3) 3-dose IPTp-SP at the same coverage as antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the country (“3-IPT High”); and (4) daily CTX at ART coverage. Outcomes measured include maternal malaria, anaemia, low birth weight (LBW), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Sensitivity analyses assessed the effect of adherence to CTX. RESULTS: Compared with the 2-IPT Low Strategy, women receiving CTX had 22.5% fewer LBW infants (95% CI 22.3–22.7), 13.5% fewer anaemia cases (95% CI 13.4–13.5), and 13.6% fewer maternal malaria cases (95% CI 13.6–13.7). In all simulated countries, CTX was the preferred strategy, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranging from cost-saving to $3.9 per DALY averted from a societal perspective. CTX was less effective than the 3-IPT High Strategy when more than 18% of women stopped taking CTX during the pregnancy. CONCLUSION: In malarious regions of sub-Saharan Africa, daily CTX for HIV-infected pregnant women regardless of CD4 cell count is cost-effective compared with 3-dose IPTp-SP as long as more than 82% of women adhere to daily dosing. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-2047-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.