Table 5.

Approximate treatment costs for a 7-day course of therapy with selected agents in the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infection

Drug	US trade name and manufacturer	Dosing regimen	Cost
Carbapenems
Meropenem	Merrem®; AstraZeneca,Wilmington, Delaware, USA	500 mg every 8 hours	$630
Imipenem/cilastatin	Primaxin®; Merck & Co.,Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA	500 mg every 8 hours	$722
Ertapenem	Invanz®; Merck & Co.,Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA	1 g every 24 hours	$360
Other agents
Piperacillin/tazobactam	Zosyn®; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA	3.375 g every 6 hours	$482
Tigecycline	Tygacil™; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA	50 mg every 12 hours a	$735

Note: Figures are based on 2005 Average Wholesale Price (AWP) in the US and reflect drug acquisition costs only (Red Book 2005);

^aAfter an initial loading dose of 100 mg.