Cost-Effectiveness of Disinfectant and Antimicrobial Products Usage in Public Transport

Public transportation represents a crucial issue in public health. The close contact of the large number of people with surfaces contaminated with environmental pollution leads to easy spreading of bacteria and viruses. The cleaning procedure of public transports usually contains a different type of disinfection. To analyze strategies and protocols which will provide a long-term effective disinfection measure for public transportation facilities in terms of prevention and control. Based on comparison of traditional disinfectants and products using a quaternary ammonium compound and silicon polymer in aqueous solution, a pharmacoeconomic analysis was performed. The analysis was performed using: Cost-Minimalization Analysis (CMA), Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA). Considering the efficiency of disinfectants, a cost reduction is observed. The application of standard disinfectants should be twice a day, while the use of antimicrobials is recommended once a month. The use of antimicrobial coating as standard disinfection procedure resulted in a 264.63 EUR total saving per month and 3171.46 EUR per year. QALY protocol A is 1 since the product efficiency is 100% and profit 1 and QALY protocol B is 0.275 since the product efficiency is 27.5% and profit 0. Results of this study demonstrates better effect by using antimicrobial protection products based on aqueous solutions with quaternary ammonium compounds and silicon polymers. Since disinfectants start to act after drying, their use is very important in the in-between routine of cleaning processes, commonly known as antimicrobial coating. In the term of personal protection, disinfection is one of the main steps in prevention of spreading infections.