Higher Mortality in Patients Undergoing Nighttime Surgical Procedures for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection

The aim of this study was to investigate whether nighttime surgical procedures contribute to higher in-hospital mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection.

All patients with acute type A aortic dissection who underwent surgical procedures at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China from 2010 to 2015 were included in the present study. Depending on the start and end time of the surgical procedures, patients were divided in daytime and nighttime groups. Propensity-matching analysis was used to compare in-hospital mortality and postoperative complications between these groups.

A total of 698 patients with acute type A aortic dissection underwent operation. Of these, 321 (45.98%) patients underwent nighttime surgical procedures, whereas 377 (54.02%) patients underwent daytime procedures. The operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and aortic cross-clamp time showed statistical differences between the two groups (p < 0.01). There was a significant difference between the daytime and nighttime groups in in-hospital mortality (6.42% vs 12.08%; p < 0.05). The nighttime group had a higher incidence rate of reintubation and continuous renal replacement therapy compared with the daytime group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, patients who underwent nighttime operations had significantly higher adjusted in-hospital mortality than patients who underwent daytime operations (odds ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.19 to 3.81; p = 0.01).

Patients with acute type A aortic dissection and certain serious medical conditions were more likely to die in the hospital if they underwent emergency nighttime surgical procedures.