The effect of admission at weekends on clinical outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome and its contributing factors

Association between holiday and weekend admissions and mortality outcomes among patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving percutaneous coronary intervention in Taiwan

There is a lack of studies that concurrently differentiate the effect of the holiday season from the weekend effect on mortality risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We evaluated the mortality risk among patients admitted with AMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Adult AMI patients admitted during January and February between 2013 and 2020 were enrolled and classified into the holiday season (using the Chinese New Year holiday seasons as an indicator) (n = 1729), weekend (n = 4725), and weekday (n = 14,583) groups according to the first day of admission. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the risk. With the weekday group or the weekend group as the reference, the holiday season group did not have increased risks of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.15; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.93-1.42 or aOR 1.23; 95% CI 0.96-1.56) and 7-day mortality (aOR 1.20; 95% CI 0.90-1.58 or aOR 1.24; 95% CI 0.90-1.70). Stratified and subgroup analyses showed similar trends. We conclude that holiday season-initiated admissions were not associated with higher mortality risks in AMI admission cases than weekday or weekend admissions.

Impact of off-hour admission on the MACEs of patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

In China, on more than 100 weekends or holidays, only on-duty cardiologists are available during admissions. This study aimed to analyze the impact of admission time on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODS

This prospective observational study enrolled patients with AMI between October 2018 and July 2019. The patients were assorted into off-hour (admitted on weekends or national holidays) and on-hour groups. The outcome was MACEs at admission and 1 year after discharge.

RESULTS

A total of 485 patients with AMI were enrolled in this study. The occurrence of MACEs was significantly higher in the off-hour group compared with the on-hour group (P < .05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that age (HR = 1.047, 95% CI: 1.021-1.073), blood glucose level (HR = 1.029, 95% CI: 1.009-1.050), multivessel disease (HR = 1.904, 95% CI: 1.074-3.375), and off-hour hospital admission (HR = 1.849, 95% CI: 1.125-3.039) were all independent risk factors for in-hospital MACEs, while percutaneous coronary intervention (HR = 0.210, 95% CI: 0.147-0.300) and on-hour admission (HR = 0.723, 95% CI: 0.532-0.984) were protective factors for MACEs 1 year after discharge.

CONCLUSION

The "off-hour effect" still existed in patients with AMI, and the risk of MACEs in the hospital and 1 year after discharge was higher for off-hour admission.

Association Between Out-of-Hour Admission and Short- and Long-Term Mortality in Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Out-of-hour admission (on weekends, holidays, and weekday nights) has been associated with higher mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We conducted a meta-analysis to verify the association between out-of-hour admission and mortality (both short- and long-term) in AMI patients.

Design: This Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Data Sources: PubMed and EMBASE were searched from inception to 27 May 2021.

Eligibility Criteria for Selected Studies: Studies of any design examined the potential association between out-of-hour admission and mortality in AMI.

Data Extraction and Synthesis: In total, 2 investigators extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias. Analysis was conducted using a random-effects model. The results are shown as odds ratios [ORs] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). I² value was used to estimate heterogeneity. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation was used to assess the certainty of the evidence.

Results: The final analysis included 45 articles and 15,346,544 patients. Short-term mortality (defined as either in-hospital or 30-day mortality) was reported in 42 articles (15,340,220 patients). Out-of-hour admission was associated with higher short-term mortality (OR 1.04; 95%CI 1.02–1.05; I² = 69.2%) but there was a significant statistical indication for publication bias (modified Macaskill's test P < 0.001). One-year mortality was reported in 10 articles (1,386,837 patients). Out-of-hour admission was also associated with significantly increased long-term mortality (OR 1.03; 95%CI 1.01–1.04; I² = 66.6%), with no statistical indication of publication bias (p = 0.207). In the exploratory subgroup analysis, the intervention effect for short-term mortality was pronounced among patients in different regions (p = 0.04 for interaction) and socio-economic levels (p = 0.007 for interaction) and long-term mortality was pronounced among patients with different type of AMI (p = 0.0008 for interaction) or on different types of out-to-hour admission (p = 0.006 for interaction).

Conclusion: Out-of-hour admission may be associated with an increased risk of both short- and long-term mortality in AMI patients.

Trial Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42020182364).

Influence of Admission Time on Health Care Quality and Utilization in Patients with Stroke: Analysis for a Possible July Effect and Weekend Effect

(1) Purpose: Undesirable health care outcomes could conceivably increase as a result of the entry of new, less experienced health care personnel into patient care during the month of July (the July effect) or as a result of the less balanced allocation of health care resources on weekends (the weekend effect). Whether these two effects were present in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system was investigated. (2) Methods: The current study data were acquired from the NHI Research Database. The research sample comprised ≥18-year-old patients diagnosed as having a stroke for the first time from 1 January 2006 to 30 September 2012. The mortality rate within 30 days after hospitalization and readmission rate within 14 days after hospital discharge were used as health care quality indicators, whereas health care utilization indicators were the total length and cost of initial hospitalization. (3) Results: The results revealed no sample-wide July effect with regard to the four indicators among patients with stroke. However, an unexpected July effect was present among in-patients in regional and public hospitals, in which the total lengths and costs of initial hospitalization for non-July admissions were higher than those for July admissions. Furthermore, the total hospitalization length for weekend admissions was 1.06–1.07 times higher than that for non-weekend admissions; the total hospitalization length for weekend admissions was also higher than that for weekday admissions during non-July months. Thus, weekend admission did not affect the health care quality of patients with stroke but extended their total hospitalization length. (4) Conclusions: Consistent with the NHI’s general effectiveness in ensuring fair, universally accessible, and high-quality health care services in Taiwan, the health care quality of patients examined in this study did not vary significantly overall between July and non-July months. However, a longer hospitalization length was observed for weekend admissions, possibly due to limitations in personnel and resource allocations during weekends. These results highlight the health care efficiency of hospitals during weekends as an area for further improvement.

Mortality differences in acute myocardial infarction patients in the Netherlands: The weekend-effect

Objective

Several studies have shown that patients admitted with an acute myocardial infarction during the weekends have a higher mortality rate than those admitted during weekdays, possibly attributable to less trained personnel available and a lower use of medical procedures. The current study aimed to assess this ‘weekend-effect’ in a nationwide registry.

Methods

In the Netherlands, all inhabitants are, by law, obliged to have health insurance and all claim data are centrally registered. In 2012 and 2013, all national diagnose-codings of STEMI and NSTEMI patients were acquired. One-year mortality rates and treatment with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were compared between weekdays and weekends (holidays included).

Results

In total, 59,534 patients (67 ± 13 years, 39,545(66%) male) were included of whom 33,904(57%) had a NSTEMI. Overall 6857(12%) patients died in the year following the acute myocardial infarction registration. In STEMI patients, no differences in one-year mortality rates were observed between admission on weekdays or weekends. In NSTEMI patients, one-year mortality was higher in those admitted during weekends (weekdays 11% versus weekends 13%, P < .001). Furthermore, STEMI patients admitted during weekends were more often treated with PCI (weekdays 77% versus weekends 81%, P < .001). Conversely, NSTEMI patients admitted during weekends were less often treated with PCI (weekdays 35% versus weekends 32%, P < .001).

Conclusion

Differences in treatment and mortality rates exist between acute myocardial infarction patients admitted during weekdays and weekends. NSTEMI patients admitted during weekends are less often treated with PCI and have a higher mortality rate than patients admitted during weekdays.

Weekend effect in acute coronary syndrome: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Background:

The effect of a weekend compared with a weekday hospital admission on patient outcomes after an acute coronary syndrome is unclear. This study aims to determine whether collectively there is a weekend effect in acute coronary syndrome.

Method:

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies examining the association between weekend compared to weekday admission at any time of the day and early mortality (in-hospital or 30-day). A search was performed on Medline and Embase and relevant studies were pooled using random effects meta-analysis for risk of early mortality. Additional analyses were performed considering only more recent studies (conducted after 2005) and by patient group (ST-elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] or non-STEMI [NSTEMI]), as well as meta-regression according to starting year and mean year of study.

Results:

A total of 18 studies were included with over 14 million participants incorporating 3 million weekend and over 11.5 million weekday admissions and the rates of mortality were 19.2% and 23.4%, respectively. The pooled results of all 18 studies suggest that weekend admission was associated with a small increased risk of early mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.09). The results for subgroups of STEMI and NSTEMI cohorts were not statistically significant and timing of admission after 2005 had minimal influence on the results (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.95–1.17).

Conclusions:

There is a small weekend effect for admission with acute coronary syndrome that has persisted over time.

Epidemiological and Survival Trends of Pediatric Cardiac Arrests in Emergency Departments in Korea: A Cross-sectional, Nationwide Report

Cardiac arrest (CA) in children is associated with high mortality rates. In Korea, cohort studies regarding the outcomes of pediatric CAs are lacking, especially in emergency departments (EDs) or in-hospital settings. This study was conducted to examine the trends in epidemiology and survival outcomes in children with resuscitation-attempted CAs using data from a cross-sectional, national, ED-based clinical registry. We extracted cases in which cardiopulmonary resuscitation and/or manual defibrillation were performed according to treatment codes using the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) from 2008 to 2012. The total number of ED visits registered in the NEDIS during the 5-yr evaluation period was 20,424,530; among these, there were 2,970 resuscitation-attempted CAs in children. The annual rates of pediatric CAs per 1,000 ED visits showed an upward trend from 2.81 in 2009 to 3.62 in 2012 (P for trend = 0.045). The median number of estimated pediatric CAs at each ED was 7.8 (25th to 75th percentile, 4 to 13) per year. The overall rates for admission survival and discharge survival were 35.2% and 12.8%, respectively. The survival outcome of adults increased substantially over the past 5 yr (11.8% in 2008, 11.7% in 2010, and 13.6% in 2012; P for trend = 0.001); however, the results for children did not improve (13.6% in 2008, 11.4% in 2010, and 13.7% in 2012; P for trend = 0.870). Conclusively, we found that the overall incidence of pediatric CAs in EDs increased substantially over the past 5 yr, but without significantly higher survival outcomes.