Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association
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Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Mar 2009
Comparative StudyWeekend versus weekday admission and mortality from gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by peptic ulcer disease.
Management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) often requires urgent endoscopic intervention; limitations in its availability on weekends might be associated with increased mortality, compared with patients admitted on weekdays. ⋯ Patients admitted to hospital on the weekend for peptic ulcer-related hemorrhage have higher mortality and more frequently undergo surgery. Although wait times for endoscopy are prolonged in patients hospitalized on the weekend, this delay does not appear to mediate the weekend effect for mortality.
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Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Mar 2009
Outcomes of weekend admissions for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: a nationwide analysis.
Previous studies have identified a weekend effect in outcomes of patients with various medical conditions suggesting worse outcomes for weekend admissions. The aim of our study was to analyze if weekend admissions for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (UGIH) have higher mortality and longer hospital stay compared with those admitted on weekdays, and to examine if this effect differs by hospital teaching status. ⋯ Patients with NVUGIH admitted on the weekend had higher mortality and lower rates of early endoscopy. Patient with AVH admitted to nonteaching hospitals also had lower utilization of early endoscopy, but no difference in survival. There is a need for research into identifying the reasons for the weekend effect.