Comparing Surgical Outcomes Among Patients Admitted for Small Bowel Obstruction on Weekend vs. Weekday.

Area of Science:

• Surgical outcomes research
• Health services research
• Gastrointestinal surgery

Background:

• Surgical intervention is crucial for managing small bowel obstruction (SBO), a condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
• Patient age and comorbidities are known risk factors for adverse surgical outcomes in SBO.
• The impact of weekend hospital admission on SBO surgical outcomes remains underexplored in existing literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between weekend admission and patient outcomes following operative management of SBO.
• To determine if admission day (weekend vs. weekday) influences mortality and length of stay (LOS) in SBO patients undergoing surgery.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2006-2012 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database for analysis.
• Included adult patients with a primary diagnosis of SBO and operative procedures like exploratory laparotomy, lysis of adhesions, or small bowel resection.
• Employed univariate analysis and negative binomial regression, adjusting for risk variables, to compare outcomes between weekend and weekday admissions.

Main Results:

• A total of 2804 patients were analyzed, with 26.0% admitted on a weekend.
• Univariate analysis revealed no significant differences in mortality or LOS between weekend and weekday admissions.
• Multivariate analysis indicated that weekend admission was associated with a decreased length of stay (LOS) (P = .048).

Conclusions:

• Weekend admission for small bowel obstruction (SBO) surgery is not associated with increased patient mortality.
• Patients admitted on weekends for SBO surgery demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in length of stay (LOS).