Higher 90-Day Mortality in New Jersey Weekend Stroke Admits

But no difference in 90-day mortality in comprehensive stroke centers

FRIDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with stroke admitted to New Jersey hospitals on weekends have a significantly increased 90-day mortality compared to those admitted on weekdays, but stroke admissions to comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) have similar 90-day mortality for weekend versus weekday admissions, according to a study published online Aug. 25 in Stroke.

James S. McKinney, M.D., from The Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey, and colleagues compared the difference in 90-day mortality in patients with stroke who were hospitalized on weekends versus weekdays. Data on New Jersey hospital discharges (from CSCs, primary stroke centers, or nonstroke centers) from 134,441 patients with a primary diagnosis of cerebral infarction were obtained from the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS) administrative database between 1996 and 2007. MIDAS records were matched with New Jersey death registration files to assess out-of-hospital deaths. The 90-day all-cause mortality after hospital admission was the primary outcome measure.

The investigators found that 23.4, 51.5, and 25.1 percent of the patients were admitted to a CSC, primary stroke center, and nonstroke center, respectively. Weekend admissions had significantly increased 90-day mortality compared with weekday admissions (17.2 versus 16.5 percent). Weekend admissions had significantly increased adjusted risk of death at 90 days than weekday admissions (hazard ratio [HR], 1.05). The 90-day mortality for patients admitted to CSC on weekends was not significantly different than for those admitted on weekdays.

"In the MIDAS database, 1996 to 2007, patients with stroke admitted on weekends had a significantly higher risk of death by 90 days. No difference in mortality was observed at CSCs," the authors write.

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