Significantly increased risk of mortality within 30 days for Friday, weekend versus Monday surgery
THURSDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing elective surgery, the odds of death are significantly increased for those who undergo the procedure on Friday or at the weekend, compared with Monday, according to research published online May 28 in BMJ.
Paul Aylin, M.B.B.S., from Imperial College in London, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of national hospital administrative data from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011 for all acute and specialist English hospitals to examine the correlation between mortality and day of elective surgical procedure.
The researchers identified 27,582 deaths within 30 days after 4,133,346 inpatient admissions for elective surgical procedures (overall crude mortality rate, 6.7 per 1,000). Over the three years, the number of weekday and weekend procedures decreased (by 4.5 and 26.8 percent, respectively). Compared with procedures carried out on a Monday, the adjusted odds of death were significantly higher for procedures carried out on a Friday or a weekend (odds ratios, 1.44 and 1.82, respectively).
"The study suggests a higher risk of death for patients who have elective surgical procedures carried out later in the working week and at the weekend," the authors write.
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