If you’re scheduled for surgery, here’s an interesting study you should know about: Researchers have found that the risk of death from surgery can depend on the time of week it’s scheduled, identifying the worst day for an operation.
The study published in JAMA Network highlights an important trend known as the “weekend effect,” in relation to surgeries. Researchers found that patients undergoing planned surgeries on Friday, just before the weekend, face a significantly higher risk of death, complications, and readmission compared to those scheduled after the weekend.
“Hospitals and health care systems have variations in operational structure and organization during the transition from weekdays to weekends. The weekend effect refers to the potential for worse patient outcomes during the weekends, compared with weekdays. In surgery, this concept may also apply to those undergoing surgery immediately before the weekend, who receive postoperative care during the weekend,” the researchers wrote.
The findings were based on an analysis of large-scale data from 429,691 adult patients in Ontario, Canada, who underwent one of 25 common surgical procedures between 2007 and 2019, with a one-year follow-up.
Of the 429,691 patients studied, nearly 46.5% had surgery before the weekend and researchers noted that they were more likely to experience negative outcomes, including complications, readmissions, and death compared to the pre-weekend group.
The risk of mortality increased by 9% at 30 days, 10% at 90 days, and a striking 12% at one year for patients who underwent surgery just before the weekend.
The study suggests that negative outcomes may be linked to differences in hospital staffing and fewer specialists available on weekends, which could impact post-surgery care. To improve outcomes, researchers recommend future studies focusing on ensuring high-quality care for all patients, regardless of when their surgery is scheduled.
However, interestingly, the researchers noted a contrasting trend regarding unplanned, urgent surgeries. While scheduled or elective procedures performed before the weekend were linked to worse postoperative outcomes, urgent, unplanned surgeries tended to show slightly better outcomes when performed before the weekend.
“Our findings underscore the need for a critical examination of current surgical scheduling practices and resource allocation. One approach for consideration is the optimization of perioperative care pathways to mitigate adverse outcomes,” the researchers noted.
