PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - R. Barba
AU  - A. Zapatero
AU  - J. Emilio Losa
AU  - J. Marco
AU  - S. Plaza
AU  - C. Rosado
AU  - J. Canora
TI  - The impact of weekends on outcome for Acute Exacerbations of COPD
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00013211
DP  - 2011 Jan 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - erj00132-2011
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2011/06/09/09031936.00013211.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2011/06/09/09031936.00013211.full
AB  - Differences in hospital staffing may influence outcomes for patients with acute conditions, including acute exacerbations of COPD, depending on which day of week the patients are admitted. This study was conducted to determine whether weekend admission increases the risk of dying in the hospital.We analysed the clinical data of 289,077 adults with acute exacerbations of COPD admitted to the hospital at any public centre in Spain, in 2006 and 2007. We analysed day of admission, demographic, medical history and comorbidity for their association with death rate. During the study period there were 35,544 (12.4%) deaths during admission in COPD patients. Weekend admissions were associated with a significantly higher in-hospital mortality (12.9%) than weekday admissions (12.1%) among COPD patients (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.10). The differences in mortality persisted after adjustment for age, gender, and co-existing disorders (1.05 OR 95% CI 1.02–1.08). Analyses of deaths within 2 days after admission showed larger relative differences in mortality between the weekend and weekday admissions (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11–1.23).Patients with acute exacerbations of COPD are more likely to die in the hospital if they are admitted on a weekend as compared to a weekday.