Effects of Weekend on the Prognoses for Patients Visiting to Emergency Medical Centers

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Despite the increased number of patients visiting emergency rooms on weekends, the level of staffing is often lower than it is on weekdays. It is uncertain whether in-hospital mortality rates among patients depend on when they visited the hospital on a weekend or on a weekday. METHODS: We analyzed 21,645 patients who visited our emergency department in 2003. We compared death within 48 hours after a visit to the emergency room between patients who visited on weekends and those with visited on weekdays. The odds of death within 48 hours for patients who visited on a weekend were analyzed by using a multivariate logistic regression. The severity of illness was adjusted by using triage and the Charlson comorbidity score. RESULTS: Compared with patients who visited on weekdays, the number of patients who visited on weekends was increased in 30%. The mortality rates were not statistically different for patients who visited on weekends and patients who visited on weekdays (3.1% vs 2.8%, p=0.399). However, two diagnoses (pneumonia and spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage) were associated significantly with a weekend effect. CONCLUSION: Visiting the emergency department on weekends was not associated with a higher mortality than visiting the emergency department on weekdays.