title: Effect of weekend admission on in-hospital mortality and functional outcomes for patients with acute subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) is an acute cerebrovascular event with high socioeconomic impact as it tends to affect younger patients. The recent NCEPOD study looking into management of aSAH has recommended that neurovascular units in the United Kingdom should aim to secure cerebral aneurysms within 48 h and that delays because of weekend admissions can increase the mortality and morbidity attributed to aSAH.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from a prospective audit of aSAH patients admitted between January 2009 and December 2011. The baseline demographic and clinical features of the weekend and weekday groups were compared using the chi-squared test and T-test. Cox proportional hazards models (Proc Phreg in SAS) were used to calculate the adjusted overall hazard of in-hospital death associated with admission on weekend, adjusting for age, sex, baseline WFNS grade, type of treatment received and time from scan to treatment. Sliding dichotomy analysis was used to estimate the difference in outcomes after SAH at 3 months in weekend and weekday admissions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Those admitted on weekends had a significantly higher scan to treatment time (83.05 ± 83.4 h vs 40.4 ± 53.4 h, P < 0.0001) and admission to treatment (71.59 ± 79.8 h vs 27.5 ± 44.3 h, P < 0.0001) time. After adjustments for adjusted for relevant covariates weekend admission was statistically significantly associated with excess in-hospital mortality (HR = 2.1, CL [1.13-4.0], P = 0.01). After adjustments for all the baseline covariates, the sliding dichotomy analysis did not show effects of weekend admission on long-term outcomes on the good, intermediate and worst prognostic bands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides important data showing excess in-hospital mortality of patients with SAH on weekend admissions served by the United Kingdom's National Health Service.; However, there were no effects of weekend admission on long-term outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Newcastle University and James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, TS4 3RP, UK.
authors.forename: Harshal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
authors.affiliation: Salford Royal Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Stott Lane, Salford, M6 8HD, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hinkley
authors.affiliation: Salford Royal Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Stott Lane, Salford, M6 8HD, UK.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dulhanty
authors.affiliation: Salford Royal Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Stott Lane, Salford, M6 8HD, UK.
authors.forename: Hiren C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Ninewells, Dundee, DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK. j.galea@dundee.ac.uk.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Galea
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Mortality due to SAH; SAH; Survival in SAH; Weekend effect