{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T20:27:30Z","timestamp":1787776050816,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Blended oxygen has been shown to reduce severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) incidence worldwide, and more recently in Uganda. Although it has been established that ROP-driven visual impairment has a substantial societal burden and that screening and treatment programs are cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries, there is limited evidence for the economic impact of prevention with appropriate oxygen management equipment (OME) in these regions. We performed a cost-utility analysis of OME implementation comparing variations ranging between most and least favorable values. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were calculated with a 3% discount rate. Calculations assumed a 62.1% incidence of visual impairment in untreated severe ROP and a disability weight of 0.184 for severe visual impairment due to ROP. One set of OME costs between $677.50\u2013$1,844.11 USD in Uganda. We found that the cost to prevent one case of ROP-driven severe visual impairment in Uganda ranges from $25.55\u2013$543.99, with a base case (best estimate) of $168.92 per case averted. This reflects 5.18 DALYs averted over the 58-year average Ugandan lifespan and a cost of $4.97\u2013$104.98 to avert one DALY, with a base case of $32.60 per DALY averted. In comparison, prevention of malaria via mosquito net distribution was estimated in a 2020 meta-analysis to cost $50 for every DALY averted. The high-end estimate is roughly 10% of the annual gross domestic product per capita ($1,002.30). Therefore, OME is a cost-effective means to prevent severe visual impairment among infants in Uganda. Implementation of OME in Uganda would also reflect a clear ethical and humanitarian success.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1715127","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T16:06:13Z","timestamp":1774627573000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Oxygen blenders for prevention of retinopathy of prematurity are highly cost-effective in Uganda"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Sean R.","family":"Smith","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago","place":["Chicago, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victoria","family":"Nakibuuka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Francis Hospital Nsambya","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"K. 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