Economic Burden and Healthcare Trajectories of Patients Awaiting Heart Transplantation in a French Tertiary Center.

Heart transplantation (HT) is the gold standard treatment of end-stage heart failure, but organ shortage remains a challenge. This retrospective cohort study assesses the economic burden and healthcare pathways of patients awaiting HT in a French tertiary center. Direct healthcare resources were collected and valued, and a state sequence analysis was performed. Ninety-two adult patients were included, with 67 (73%) undergoing HT within a median waiting time of 2 months. The mean cost per patient was €21,324.05 with an average of 2.71 hospitalizations. Four clusters were identified. Type 1 patients (n = 43) underwent HT within 1 month, with a mean cost of €5,820.12 per patient. Only 4 (25%) Type 2 patients (n = 16) underwent HT within 30 months, as they were not prioritized for HT, with a mean cost of €22,285.32 per patient. Type 3 patients (n = 20) underwent HT within 10 months, but incurred higher costs (€27,541.11) compared to Type 2 patients over a shorter period. Despite high transplant priority, Type 4 patients (n = 13) died before HT within 3 months, with a mean cost of €61,858.45 and 3 hospitalizations. This work highlights the economic burden of organ shortage. The use of novel heart preservation devices (such as perfusion systems) could help to expand the donor pool and alleviate this burden, but these aspects need to be further investigated.