American Heart Journal
Volume 158, Issue 3 , Pages 451-458 , September 2009

Weekend hospital admission and discharge for heart failure: Association with quality of care and clinical outcomes

  • Tamara B. Horwich, MD MS

      Affiliations

    • Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
    • ,
  • Adrian F. Hernandez, MD MHS

      Affiliations

    • Duke Clinical Research Institute; Durham, NC
    • ,
  • Li Liang, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Duke Clinical Research Institute; Durham, NC
    • ,
  • Nancy M. Albert, RN PhD

      Affiliations

    • Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland OH
    • ,
  • Kenneth A. LaBresh, MD

      Affiliations

    • Mass Pro, Waltham, MA
    • ,
  • Clyde W. Yancy, MD

      Affiliations

    • Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX
    • ,
  • Gregg C. Fonarow, MD

      Affiliations

    • Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, UCLA Medical Center, 10833 LeConte Avenue, Room 47-123 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1679.
    • ,
  • for the Get With the Guidelines Steering Committee and Hospitals

Received 8 April 2009 ,Accepted 16 June 2009.

References 

  1. Bell CM, Redelmeier DA. Mortality among patients admitted to hospitals on weekends as compared with weekdays. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:663–668
  2. Kostis WJ, Demissie K, Marcella SW, et al. Weekend versus weekday admission and mortality from myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:1099–1109
  3. Saposnik G, Baibergenova A, Bayer N, et al. Weekends: a dangerous time for having a stroke?. Stroke. 2007;38:1211–1215
  4. Barnett MJ, Kaboli PJ, Sirio CA, et al. Day of the week of intensive care admission and patient outcomes: a multisite regional evaluation. Med Care. 2002;40:530–539
  5. Reeves MJ, Smith E, Fonarow G, et al. Off-hour admission and in-hospital stroke case fatality in the get with the guidelines-stroke program. Stroke. 2009;40:569–576
  6. Becker DJ. Do hospitals provide lower quality care on weekends?. Health Serv Res. 2007;42:1589–1612
  7. Cram P, Hillis SL, Barnett M, et al. Effects of weekend admission and hospital teaching status on in-hospital mortality. Am J Med. 2004;117:151–157
  8. Bell CM, Redelmeier DA. Waiting for urgent procedures on the weekend among emergently hospitalized patients. Am J Med. 2004;117:175–181
  9. Chow KM, Szeto CC. Impact of enforcing the Labour Ordinance, with 1-in-7-day off for hospital doctors, on weekend hospital discharge rate. J Public Health. 2005;27:189–191
  10. Varnava AM, Sedgwick JEC, Deaner A, et al. Restricted weekend service inappropriately delays discharge after acute myocardial infarction. Heart. 2002;87:216–219
  11. Obel N, Schierbeck J, Pedersen L, et al. Mortality after discharge from the intensive care unit during the early weekend period: a population-based cohort study in Denmark. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2007;51:1225–1230
  12. Fonarow GC, Abraham WT, Albert NM, et al. Day of Admission and Clinical Outcomes for Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure: Findings From the Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure (OPTIMIZE-HF). Circ Heart Fail. 2008;1:50–57
  13. Fonarow GC, Abraham WT, Albert NM, et al. Association between performance measures and clinical outcomes for patients hospitalized with heart failure. JAMA. 2007;297:61–70
  14. Hernandez AF, Fonarow GC, Liang L, et al. Sex and racial differences in the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators among patients hospitalized with heart failure. JAMA. 2007;298:1525–1532
  15. Fonarow GC, Adams KF, Abraham WT, et al. Risk stratification for in-hospital mortality in acutely decompensated heart failure: classification and regression tree analysis. JAMA. 2005;293:572–580
  16. Jneid H, Fonarow GC, Cannon CP, et al. Impact of time of presentation on the care and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2008;117:2502–2509
  17. Rudd AG, Hoffman A, Down C, et al. Access to stroke care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the effect of age, gender and weekend admission. Age Ageing. 2007;36:247–255
  18. Tickoo S, Fonarow GC, Hernandez AF, et al. Weekend/holiday versus weekday hospital discharge and guideline adherence. Am J Cardiol. 2008;102:663–667
  19. Angus DC, Shorr AF, White A, et al. Critical care delivery in the United States: distribution of services and compliance with Leapfrog recommendations. Crit Care Med. 2006;34:1016–1024
  20. Needleman J, Buerhaus P, Mattke S, et al. Nurse-staffing levels and the quality of care in hospitals. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:1715–1722
  21. Petersen LA, Brennan TA, O'Neil AC, et al. Does house staff discontinuity of care increase the risk for preventable adverse events?. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:866–872

 Dr Hernandez is a recipient of an American Heart Association Pharmaceutical Roundtable grant (0675060N).

 Jalal K. Ghali, MD, served as guest editor on this manuscript.

PII: S0002-8703(09)00480-3

doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2009.06.025

American Heart Journal
Volume 158, Issue 3 , Pages 451-458 , September 2009

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