Key result
Early surgical intervention (1-12 months) for congenital heart disease significantly reduced the cost of surgical admission compared to later intervention (1-5 years) (Rs. 346,019 vs Rs. 473,558, p=0.001).
Why the study?
Does earlier surgical intervention reduce the cost of illness and complications in children with congenital heart disease?
Observational (n=120)
No
Does earlier surgical intervention reduce the cost of illness and complications in children with congenital heart disease?
Earlier surgical intervention for congenital heart disease in children under 5 years old significantly reduces surgical admission costs, outpatient visit costs, and post-operative complications.
Earlier intervention may lower costs in congenital heart disease; observational data leaves open causal confirmation by trials.
BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) accounts for a major proportion of disease in the pediatric age group. The objective of the study was to estimate the cost of illness associated with CHD pre, intra and postoperatively; among patients referred to a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. This is the first study conducted to estimate the cost of managing CHD in Pakistan. METHODS: A prevalence based cost of illness study design was used to estimate the cost of cardiac surgery (corrective & palliative) for congenital heart defects in children ≤ 5 years of age from June 2006 to June 2009. A total of 120 patients were enrolled after obtaining an informed consent and the data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of surgery in group A (1-12 mo age) was 6.08 ± 2.80 months and in group B (1-5 yrs) was 37.10 ± 19.94 months. The cost of surgical admission was found to be significantly higher in the older group, p = 0.001. The total number and cost of post-operative outpatient visits was also higher in group B, p = 0.003. Pre and post operative hospital admissions were not found to be significantly different among the two groups, p = 0.166 and 0.627, respectively. The number of complications were found to be different between the two groups (p = 0.019). Majority of these were contributed by hemorrhage and post-operative seizures. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that significant expenditure is incurred by people with CHD; with the implication that resources could be saved by earlier detection and awareness campaigns.
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Panni et al. (2011) conducted an observational in Congenital heart disease (n=120). Early surgical intervention (1-12 months) vs. Later surgical intervention (1-5 years) was evaluated on Cost of surgical admission (Pakistani rupees) (p=0.001). Early surgical intervention (1-12 months) for congenital heart disease significantly reduced the cost of surgical admission compared to later intervention (1-5 years) (Rs. 346,019 vs Rs. 473,558, p=0.001).
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