No evidence of "weekend effect" in upper gastrointestinal bleeding in Italy: data from a nationwide prospective registry

Adverse events in gastrointestinal endoscopy: Validation of the AGREE classification in a real-life 5-year setting

BACKGROUND

The novel AGREE classification for adverse events (AEs) in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy has not yet been validated in a real-world setting.

AIMS

Our study aims to evaluate the correlation between the grades of AEs in the ASGE and AGREE classifications and to assess the interobserver agreement of the two classification systems.

METHODS

The correlation and association between the AE grades of the ASGE and AGREE classifications were analyzed using the Spearman rank correlation test and the chi-squared analysis, respectively. A weighted Cohen's kappa coefficient analysis was performed to determine the interobserver agreement of both classification systems.

RESULTS

We prospectively collected the AEs that occurred in our endoscopy unit over the past five years. A total of 226 AEs (226/84,863, 0.3%) occurred. There was a correlation between the ASGE and AGREE classifications (ρ = 0.61) and a moderately significant association (p < 0.01, Cramer's V = 0.7). The interobserver agreement for the ASGE classification was fair (kappa 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54, 0.67), whereas it was good for the AGREE classification (kappa 0.80, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.87).

CONCLUSIONS

The AGREE classification was validated for the first time in a real-world setting and showed a positive correlation and higher interobserver agreement than the ASGE classification.

Analysis of Care and Outcomes for Epistaxis Weekend Admissions

OBJECTIVES

To study differences in care of patients admitted for epistaxis during the weekend compared to the weekday.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective database review.

SETTING

2003 to 2014 National Inpatient Sample.

METHODS

Patients admitted for a primary diagnosis of epistaxis were extracted from the National Inpatient Sample from 2003 to 2014. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to assess differences in patient demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes between weekend and weekday admissions.

RESULTS

A total of 39,329 cases were included in our study cohort, with 28,458 weekday admissions and 10,892 weekend admissions. There was no significant difference in patient race, gender, insurance status, hospital ownership status, or location between weekend and weekday admissions (p > .05). Most weekend admissions were emergent (82.2%) and were treated with packing (51.8%). Upon performing logistic regression, the likelihood of emergent admission (odds ratio [OR] 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-1.51, p < .001) and prolonged length of stay (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05-1.17, p < .001) was higher for weekend admissions versus weekday admissions. Moreover, odds of packing for epistaxis were significantly higher (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.09-1.19, p < .001) on the weekend, while odds of ligation (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.97, p = .013) and endovascular arterial embolization (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.65-0.84, p < .001) were lower. There were no significant differences in in-hospital mortality, patient discharge disposition, and total hospital charges (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

Patients primarily admitted for epistaxis over the weekend were more likely to be emergent, experienced prolonged length of stay, and be treated nonoperatively with packing, than weekday admissions. No significant differences in patient insurance or hospital ownership were identified.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4

Effect of holiday admission on clinical outcome of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding: A real-world report from Thailand

Background

Holiday admissions are associated with poorer clinical outcomes compared with non-holiday admissions. However, data remain inconsistent concerning the “holiday effect” for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. This study compared the differences between clinical courses of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were admitted on holidays and non-holidays in Thailand.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding confirmed by endoscopy who were admitted on holidays and non-holidays between January 2016 and December 2017. Mortality, medical resource usage, time to endoscopy, and clinical outcomes were compared between the groups.

Results

In total, 132 and 190 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were admitted on holidays and non-holidays, respectively. Baseline characteristics, diagnosis of variceal bleeding, and pre-and post-endoscopic scores were not different between the two groups. Patients admitted on non-holidays were more likely to undergo early endoscopy, within 24 h of hospitalization (78.9% vs. 37.9%, p < 0.001), and had a shorter median time to endoscopy (median [interquartile range]: 17 [12–23] vs. 34 [17–56] h, p < 0.001) than those admitted on holidays. No significant differences in in-hospital mortality rate, number of blood transfusions, endoscopic interventions, additional interventions (including angioembolization and surgery), and length of stay were observed. Patients admitted on holidays had increased admission costs than those admitted on non-holidays (751 [495–1203] vs. 660 [432–1028] US dollars, p= 0.033). After adjusting for confounding factors, holiday admission was a predictor of early endoscopy (adjusted odds ratio 0.159; 95% confidence interval, 0096–0.264, p < 0.001), but was not associated with in-hospital mortality or other clinical outcomes.

Conclusions

Patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were admitted on holidays had a lower rate of early endoscopy, longer time to endoscopy, and higher admission cost than those admitted on non-holidays. Holiday admission was not associated with in-hospital mortality or other clinical outcomes.