Venoarterial extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is increasingly used in patients during cardiogenic shock, due to favorable results in this very high-risk scenario. However, it is a costly intervention that requires heavy financial investment and specialized human resources.

Cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate ECLS in the perspective of the Brazilian public health system (SUS) in the population of adult patients with cardiogenic shock. A decision tree comparing ECLS and usual care was built, using efficacy data from a systematic review of literature, and cost data from SUS reimbursement values. Impact of parameter variability and uncertainty were ascertained with deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis.

Usual care resulted in thirty percent probability of survival, at an average cost of 3,000 international dollars (Int$/USD); the strategy that includes ECLS resulted in sixty-two percent survival rate, and average cost of Int$ 23,000, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of Int$ 62.215 per averted in-hospital death. Results were sensitive to device cost, and survival difference between strategies. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, ECLS was consistently more costly and more effective than usual care; based on a willingness-to-pay of three times Brazilian gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (Int$ 45,000), there was twenty-seven percent probability of ECLS being cost-effective.

ECLS has the potential to increase survival for cardiogenic shock, but would significantly increase costs. In the Brazilian public health system, the cost per averted in-hospital death is 4.1 times the domestic GDP per capita.