Cost-effectiveness of Humanitarian Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

IMPORTANCE Endorsement of global humanitarian interventions is based on either proven cost-effectiveness or perceived public health benefits. The cost-effectiveness and long-term benefits of global humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery are unknown, and funding for this intervention is insufficient. OBJECTIVES To determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention (multiple 2-week-long humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery program assistance trips to various low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]) and to produce a measure of the long-lasting effects of global humanitarian programs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS International, multicenter cost-effectiveness analysis of a cohort of children (aged <16 years) undergoing surgical treatment of congenital heart disease during 2015 in LMICs, including China, Macedonia, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria. Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine. The study also assessed estimated improvement in the United Nations Human Development Indicators (life expectancy, years of schooling, and gross national income) for each individual survivor, as a proxy for long-term benefits of the intervention. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was cost-effectiveness of the intervention. The secondary outcomes were potential gains in life expectancy, years of schooling, and gross national income per capita for each survivor. RESULTS During 2015, 446 patients (192 [43%) female; mean [SD] age, 3.7 [5.4] years) were served in 10 LMICs at an overall cost of $3210 873. Of them, 424 were children. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was $171 per disability-adjusted life-year averted. Each survivor in the cohort (390 of 424) potentially gained 39.9 disability-adjusted life-years averted, 3.5 years of schooling, and $159 533 in gross national income per capita during his or her extended lifetime at purchasing power parity and 3% discounting. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery in LMICs is highly cost-effective. It also leaves behind a lasting humanitarian footprint by potentially improving individual development indices.