Cardiologic Medical Evacuations in Burkina Faso: Contribution of Three Philanthropic Sponsors over a 10-Year Period

Introduction: This study aimed at describing the socio-economic, diagnostic, and progressive features of patients evacuated thanks to philanthropic sponsors. Patients and methods: all evacuated patients, contacted through the phone and interviewed, were included in the study. A questionnaire helped in collecting data which were analyzed through the software Epi-Info (version 7). Outcomes: A total of 63 patients out of 134 were included in the study among which there are 22 adults and 41 children. The sex-ratio was 1.30. Patients living in Ouagadougou accounted for 79% of cases. The children’s average age at evacuation was 3.58 ± 3.86 years against 27.52 ± 12.54 years for adults. Ventricular septal defects among children (58.53%) and mitral valve diseases among adults (72.72%) were the main diagnoses at the time of evacuation. The average fall was 47 months for children, and 54 months for adults in the post-operative period. 68% of adults had an income below 50,000 FCFA per month. The evacuation average cost was estimated at 21,083,000 FCFA per patient, corresponding to 2,825,122,000 FCA over 10 years. Each adult patient spent an average of 15,000 FCFA per month for the follow up, against 8725 FCFA for children. 16% of patients were lost of sight in the post-operative. Conclusion: Philanthropic sponsors significantly contribute to the management of cardiac patients, and their efforts should be supported by a better monitoring. Setting-up cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology in Burkina Faso are required to address these health shortcomings.