| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Background: The most important cause of infant mortality during the first month of life is related to congenital abnormalities. Although most of the metabolic symptoms are detectable from the first days of life, sometimes these symptoms are weak and, as a result, diagnosis of the disease is delayed for months and even years. Nevertheless, timely diagnosis of the disease can reduce the severity of its effects. Therefore, in order to decrease the congenital abnormalities, neonatal screening programs are being conducted in most developed as well as developing countries around the world. In addition to importance of identification and prevention of these diseases particularly during the first years of life, limitation of the resources in the health department has caused the policymakers and planners to pay more attention to their own costs. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the neonatal screening program in Fars Province, Iran. Methods: In this study, costs of executing the screening programs, treatment of the diagnosed cases, and treatment of infected, unscreened individuals, life quality, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were measured in two study groups. Finding: Performing the screening programs for phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, galactosemia, and favism resulted in respectively (35256$), (136169.1$), (204510.9$), and (11331.6$) saving per patient. Overall, the study results revealed the cost-effectiveness of execution of the neonatal screening program. Conclusion: Neonatal screening program is one of the health interventions which lead to long-term beneficial outcomes for the patients, financial saving for the society, and improvement of the patients’ quantity as well as quality of life. |
