Cost-Effectiveness of Molecular Method Diagnostic for Rapid Detection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

•Molecular diagnostic techniques promote fast antibacterial drug resistance profile identification, enabling therapeutic adequacy in a short time, but at a higher cost.•The association of molecular method with the conventional method led to cost reduction and increased benefits, optimizing the use of financial resources on the health system in the intensive care units setting, in bacteremia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp.•This cost-effectiveness analysis may help to better understand the interactions related to infections by resistant bacteria and to support the decisions of the institutions involved in health system management toward the incorporation of molecular methods. The economic model developed in this study may be used to guide decision-making processes.