Day of week of procedure and 30 day mortality for elective surgery: retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics
BMJ 2013; 346 doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f2424 (Published 28 May 2013)
P Aylin, clinical reader in epidemiology and public health1, R Alexandrescu, research associate1, M H Jen, research associate1, E K Mayer, Walport clinical lecturer2, A Bottle, senior lecturer in medical statistics
Results
There were 27 582 deaths within 30 days after 4 133 346 inpatient admissions for elective operating room procedures (overall crude mortality rate 6.7 per 1000). The number of weekday and weekend procedures decreased over the three years (by 4.5% and 26.8%, respectively). The adjusted odds of death were 44% and 82% higher, respectively, if the procedures were carried out on Friday (odds ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval 1.39 to 1.50) or a weekend (1.82, 1.71 to 1.94) compared with Monday.
Conclusions
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.
http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2424