Mortalidad y atención a pacientes hospitalizados durante los fines de semana

Background and objectives

It has been shown that patients admitted to hospital during the weekends tend to have less favourable outcomes, including higher mortality rates, compared with those admitted during weekdays. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of on the health outcomes of patients admitted during the weekend.

Material and methods

A retrospective observational study was conducted on all patients admitted to Montilla Hospital (Córdoba).. All hospitalised patients were attended to daily, including weekends and holidays. An analysis was performed on the epidemiological variables and health outcomes (total mortality).

Results

The study included a total of 2,565 hospital admissions, of whom 653 (25.6%) were discharged during the weekend. Patients discharged during the weekend were significantly younger [53 (27) versus 56 (27) years, P < .002], had fewer diagnoses on discharge [6.2 (3.7) versus 6.7 (3.9), P < .003], and had fewer procedures performed [(3 (1.9) versus 3.2 (1.8), P < .005]. The mean length of stay was shorter for weekend discharges than the weekday discharges [3 (2.6) days versus 3.7 (3.9) days, P < .001). The total mortality was 4%, and there were no differences between weekday and weekend admissions (4.3% versus 3.7%). Home discharges on the weekend were related to a reduction in the mean length of stay by 0.3 days (from 3.6 to 3.9 days, P < .001).

Conclusions

Hospitalised patient care has led to the disappearance of increased mortality during weekends.