Surgeries on Fridays pose higher risks

You may want to reschedule if you are supposed to have a surgical procedure on Friday.

 

According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, people who undergo surgery just before the weekend have a significantly higher risk of complications, readmissions and death in the days and months following the procedure, compared to those who have the surgery after the weekend. The "weekend effect" refers to an increased likelihood of adverse patient outcomes when receiving care over the weekend.

 

To examine if this weekend effect might apply to patients undergoing surgery on a Friday and recovering in the hospital over the weekend, the researchers analysed data from 4,29,691 patients, with an average age of 58.6 years who underwent one of 25 common surgical procedures in Ontario, Canada.

 

Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they had surgery one day before the weekend (Friday or pre-holiday) or one day after (Monday or post-holiday). Those who had surgery on a pre-weekend had longer hospital stays than those who had surgery after the weekend. They were 5 per cent more likely to experience a combination of mortality, complications and readmissions within 30 days. Also, the risk of death was 9 per cent higher at 30 days, 10 per cent higher at 90 days and 12 per cent higher at one year. This weekend effect was observed across multiple subspecialties, particularly among patients undergoing elective surgeries.

 

The researchers suggest that factors such as staffing differences, limited access to specialists, reduced service availability and challenges in care coordination over the weekends may contribute to these outcomes.

Health