The path to sustainable cardiac surgery in Rwanda: analysis of costs for consumables used during cardiac surgery for a non-governmental organization.

Background: Until local healthcare infrastructure is strengthened, cardiac surgical care in low- and middle-income countries is often provided by non-governmental organizations by way of visiting healthcare teams. This is generally considered to be a cost-effective alternative to transporting patients to high income countries for surgical care, but the costs of cardiac surgery consumables under this model are poorly understood. Our objective was to identify the per-patient cost of cardiac surgery consumables used in single and double valve replacements performed by a non-governmental organization in Rwanda.

Reproductive health among women of child-bearing age after surgery for rheumatic heart disease in Rwanda.

Objective: To determine maternal and fetal outcomes in postoperative women with rheumatic heart disease who become pregnant after valve surgery and evaluate current anticoagulation management during pregnancy.

Methods: Data from the Rwandan rheumatic heart disease cardiac surgical registry identified all female patients who underwent valve surgery before or during childbearing age since 2006. In total, 136 participants completed a mixed-methods questionnaire detailing each pregnancy after surgery, including anticoagulation regimen and outcomes.

Postoperative Rheumatic Heart Disease Follow-Up: Creating a National Registry and First Results from Rwanda.

Background: In many developing countries, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is diagnosed at an advanced stage and requires surgery for patient survival. However, access to cardiac surgery in this context is limited and often provided through partnerships, requiring centralized patient data systems for monitoring and follow-up.

Objectives: This study used data from a national postoperative RHD registry to analyze clinical outcomes of Rwandan patients who received surgery between 2006 and 2017.