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Introduction: Treatment of congenital ptosis is exclusively surgical; the frontalis sling method is most appropriate when the ptosis is severe, with no upper eyelid levator function. This surgery typically utilizes various materials (autologous fascia lata, silicone, nylon, or polypropylene bands, etc.)., Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study of 22 children under 16 years of age, treated for congenital ptosis by frontalis suspension of the levator muscle of the upper eyelid using the polypropylene technique, between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2017 at the African Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology teaching hospital., Results: In our study, the surgical result (prior to correction of recurrences) was satisfactory in 81.82 % of cases, with a recurrence rate of 13.64 %. The mean follow-up was 14 months, ranging from 4 to 25 months., Discussion: The use of polypropylene provides encouraging results in ptosis surgery, while also offering the advantage of being low cost and more available. Its use in developing countries deserves special attention., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To present a method aimed to evaluate the economic impact associated with the use of medical devices (DM) not reimbursed in addition to diagnosis related groups (DRGs) tariffs using the example of biological meshes for parietal reinforcement., Methods: In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we included all patients who received a biological mesh between January 2010-April 2014 (University hospitals of Saint-Étienne, France) or between January 2010-March 2015 (Lyon University hospitals, France). Measured costs associated with biologic meshes were compared to those of the "Étude nationale des coûts à méthodologie commune" (2012) to weigh the economic impact of biologic meshes with the French DRGs costs. We also compared these costs to the fares perceived by the hospital from the French sickness fund (GHS)., Results: Thirty-six patients received a biological mesh and were treated by a total of 38 biological meshes. Of these, the implant was Protexa ® , Permacol ® and Strattice ® in 66%, 29% and 5% of cases respectively. The hospitals incomes were 10,496±5562€ per stay. Meshes-related expenditures represented in average 28% of DRGs costs and 38% of GHS tariffs. The mean additional cost for biological meshes was 3793±2292 euros compared to the mean cost on implantable medical devices in the French DRGs., Conclusion: Given their currently restricted use, the hospital budget impact of biological meshes remains limited although the incremental cost per patient is substantial. Analytic costs data can be useful within the scope of decision-making related to DM not refunded by the French health system., (Copyright © 2017 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Syncope is a sudden and generally momentary loss of consciousness, which can have serious adverse events. The outcomes of the syncope episode can vary from a fall to fatal accidents. Syncope has a major negative effect on the patient's health-related quality of life. The economic burden of syncope on healthcare systems is considerable. There are no clear diagnostic pathways for identifying the cause of syncope; patients can be admitted to hospital and undergo expensive and often repeated and inconclusive diagnostic tests. Implantable cardiac monitors have been available for more than a decade to help early diagnosis of syncope in unexplained cases. However, despite being a Canadian invention, the use of the implantable cardiac monitors has been suboptimal in the Canadian healthcare system. This study provides an overview of syncope, its management, and presents the estimated potential cost savings per diagnosis of systematic use of implantable cardiac monitors in Ontario.

The aim of this study was the medico-economic evaluation of the closure of ostium secundum type interatrial communications in 32 patients, treated by cardiac catheterisation (group A: n = 17) or by surgery (group B: n = 15). The success rate was 100% with the 2 techniques. With national cost scale data we evaluated the overall cost of the 2 treatments using the information system medical program, starting from homogenous groups of patients: 150 catheterisation, 169 and 170 surgery. As the value for the homogenous group of 150 patients was much lower than the price of the material used for catheterisation, an adjusted group of 150 patients including the price of this material was created. An evaluation in terms of an artificial index of activity was also performed. The average duration of hospital stay for group A was reduced by 6.1 days compared to group B (p < 0.001). The overall cost was lower in group A than in group B (p < 0.001), using the real and "adjusted" homogenous group of 150 patients, with a respective reduction of 7,582 Euros and 3,731 Euros. Surgery and catheterisation scored 8,167 points (17,756 Euros) and 2,726 points (5,926 Euros) per patient respectively on the artificial activity index. In conclusion, catheterisation reduced the duration of hospital stay and brought an economic benefit for the Assurance Maladie compared to surgery. However, surgery is more profitable for the hospital than catheterisation because of the high cost of the prosthesis, which is not taken into account with a homogenous group of non-specific patients. This could hamper the development of this innovative technique in a hospital subjected to overall budgetary constraints.