Variation of mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery in relation to hour, day and month of the procedure.
BACKGROUND
Mortality and complications after percutaneous coronary intervention is higher when performed after regular duty hours due to challenging patient characteristics, inferior processes of care and limited resources. Since these challenges are also encountered during coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery that is performed after regular work hours, we assessed whether hour and day of procedure influenced mortality after CABG.


METHODS
We studied 4,714 consecutive patients who underwent CABG at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center between 1987 and 2009. We compared postoperative (30-day) mortality rates in relation to hour and day in which the operation was performed.


RESULTS
Operations performed on weekends and after 4 PM had higher risk patients (p < 0.0001) and were more likely to be emergent (p < 0.0001), require intra-aortic balloon pump support (p < 0.0001) and result in postoperative complications (p < 0.0001) compared to those at regular work hours. Mortality was significantly higher when CABG was performed on weekends compared to weekdays (9.4% versus 2.5%; odds ratio (OR) 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6 to 10.4, p = 0.003), and after 4 PM compared to between 7 AM-4 PM (6.2% versus 2.2%; OR 2.9, 95% CI 1 to 8, p = 0.049). In multivariable analysis, when adjusted for the urgency of the operation and the VA estimated mortality risk score, these associations were no longer statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Mortality after CABG is higher when surgery is performed on the weekends and after 4 PM. These variations in mortality were related to higher patient risk, and urgency of the operation rather than external factors.
Division of Cardiology, Veterans Administration Medical Center, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417, USA.
Ann
A
Coumbe
Ranjit
R
John
Michael
M
Kuskowski
Mehmet
M
Agirbasli
Edward O
EO
McFalls
Selcuk
S
Adabag
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013995:Time; D017748:Time Management; D014937:Work; D057188:Workflow