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Published on: March 27, 2018
Weekend Operation and Outcomes of Patients Admitted for Nonelective Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
Muhammad Siyab Panhwar1, Salil V Deo2, Tanush Gupta3
1Tulane University Heart and Vascular Institute, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Insights
The weekend effect on nonelective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) shows higher crude mortality for weekend surgeries. However, risk-adjusted mortality is similar, suggesting sicker patients undergo weekend CABG.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Health Services Research
- Public Health
Background:
- The
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the
Main Methods:
- Utilized the 2013-2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.
- Analyzed outcomes for adult patients undergoing nonelective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
- Compared outcomes between weekend and weekday admissions.
Main Results:
- Weekend CABG patients had higher rates of ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome, required more intra-aortic balloon pump support, and underwent more same-day procedures.
- Unadjusted analysis showed increased mortality for weekend admissions (6.1% vs 3.2%).
- Risk-adjusted analysis revealed similar mortality rates between weekend and weekday CABG (adjusted odds ratio, 1.22; P = .47).
Conclusions:
- Patients undergoing nonelective CABG on weekends had higher crude mortality but similar risk-adjusted mortality compared to weekdays.
- The observed excess mortality for weekend CABG is likely due to a sicker patient cohort admitted during weekends.
- This suggests that patient acuity, rather than the timing of surgery itself, may explain outcome differences.
Background:
The "weekend effect" is a purported phenomenon whereby patients admitted for time-sensitive medical and surgical conditions on a weekend suffer worse outcomes than those admitted on a weekday. There are limited data on the weekend effect for nonelective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
Methods:
We studied outcomes for weekend vs weekday operations for all adult patients in the 2013 to 2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) undergoing nonelective CABG.
Results:
Of 101,510 patients undergoing nonelective CABG, 12,795 patients (12.6%) underwent CABG on the day of admission (n = 1230 for weekend and 11,565 for weekday admission, respectively). Patients undergoing surgical procedures on a weekend were more likely to have a diagnosis of ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (47.2% vs 20.2%, P < .001), require intraaortic balloon pump support (46.3% vs 23.1%, P < .001), and undergo same-day coronary angiography (66.7% vs 41.8%; P < .001) or same-day percutaneous coronary intervention (11.8% vs 7.1%; P = .01). Weekend admission was associated with increased mortality in unadjusted analysis (6.1% vs 3.2%; odds ratio, 1.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-3.52; P = .02), but this effect was attenuated in the adjusted model (adjusted odds ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-2.33; P = .47).
Conclusions:
Patients undergoing CABG on a weekend had higher crude mortality but similar risk-adjusted mortality compared with their weekday counterparts. Some of the excess mortality observed for weekend operations is likely attributable to a sicker cohort of patients undergoing CABG on the weekend.
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