Association Between Weekend and Holiday Admission with Pneumonia and Mortality in a Tertiary Center in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Acta medica portuguesa Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 361 - 367
• Main Authors: Cortes, Margarida Barreto, Fernandes, Samuel Raimundo, Aranha, Patricia, Avô, Luís Brito, Falcão, Luís Menezes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Portugal Ordem dos Médicos 31.05.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Holidays; Hospital Mortality; Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data; Pneumonia; Pneumonia, Bacterial - mortality; Portugal; Portugal - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Tertiary Care Centers; Time Factors; Young Adult; Holidays; Pneumonia; Hospital Mortality; Time Factors; Patient Admission; Hospitalization; Portugal
• DOI: 10.20344/amp.8029
• ISSN: 0870-399X

Acute bacterial pneumonia is a common and potentially fatal disease where early recognition and treatment are crucial. Increasing medical literature suggests worse outcomes in patients admitted for medical and surgical conditions during the weekend. Little is known about this effect in patients with acute bacterial pneumonia. Obective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of weekend and holiday hospital admission on the outcomes of acute bacterial pneumonia. Retrospective analysis of adult patients (> 18 years) with acute bacterial pneumonia collected from a tertiary referral center database. Length of stay, total cost, admission to intensive care unit, development of sepsis and organ failure, and mortality were compared between patients admitted on a weekday and patients admitted during a weekend or holiday. We analyzed 53 854 hospital admissions from 42 512 patients (median age 84.0 years, range 18 - 118 years), corresponding to 30 554 admissions during weekdays, 21 222 at weekends and 2078 during public holidays. Weekend and holiday admission was not associated with increased costs, length of stay, intensive care unit admission, development of sepsis, organ failure, and mortality. A weekend/holiday effect in acute bacterial pneumonia was not evident in our series.