Cost-Benefit Analysis of Difficult Airway Management Techniques in Ukraine

OBJECTIVES: Advanced airway management techniques encompass a set of procedures and tools employed by healthcare professionals to establish and secure a patient's airway in situations where conventional methods may be challenging or insufficient. Video-laryngoscopy is a well-established technology that is widely applied in the clinical settings worldwide. According to the clinical guidelines video laryngoscopes are recommended for routine use.The study aimed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of video-laryngoscopy in Ukraine.

METHODS: Decision tree modeling of cost benefit analysis in MS Excel of the introduction of video-laryngoscopy comparing with the current practice (direct laryngoscopes) based on the local cost data in Ukraine.

RESULTS: Video-laryngoscopy is a cost saving intervention from a payer perspective. Its introduction into clinical practice may decrease incidence of difficult intubations from 5.8% to 0.47%, resulting in average decrease of healthcare cost per procedure by 8,8 EUR (380 UAH). With an extra administration and acquisition cost of 1,28 EUR (55 UAH), estimated cost savings are 7.57 EUR (335 UAH) per procedure.

CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of advanced air management techniques will lead to anesthesiologic care improvement in Ukraine from both clinical and economic perspectives. Video-laryngoscopes, as electronic devices, may also provide a valuable resource for data collection that can be later used in development of AI tools for anatomic structures recognition and procedure success evaluation. Such tools may complement existing solutions through integration with a clinical decision support system and is a topic for further research. There are additional benefits associated with video-laryngoscopy introduction. Ease of learning and intubation skill development may ensure fast technology deployment in a clinical setting.