Acute pancreatitis and the weekend effect: does weekend admission affect patient outcome?

Introduction
When a patient is admitted to a hospital for acute pancreatitis (AP), the day of the week on which the admis- sion occurs may influence the outcome of care. The link between reduced weekend staffing practices and outcomes for patients hospitalised for AP, however, has been inadequately studied.

Aim
To evaluate the relationship between weekend admission and AP outcome.

Material and methods
One hundred and twenty-six patients were prospectively included, assessed according to the revised Atlanta criteria, and observed until discharge or death. Weekend and weekday admissions were compared in terms of severity, aetiology, length of hospital stay, and in-hospital mortality.

Results
Patients were divided into two groups according to the timing of admission (weekday, n = 99, 78.6%; or weekend, n = 27, 21.4%). AP was considered severe in 33 (26.2%) patients, moderately severe AP in 37 (29.4%) patients, and mild in 56 (44.4%) patients. No significant differences were found with regard to the distribution of AP severity between the two groups. The impact of weekend admission was not significant for aetiology or for the length of hospital stay (median of 9 vs. 10 days). In-hospital mortality rates were not significantly different for weekday and weekend admissions.

Conclusions
Patients admitted for hospitalisation during a weekend received the same level and quality of care at the facility under study as AP patients admitted during the week. Additionally, the rate of favourable outcomes for patients admitted during the weekend was found to be similar to the outcomes of patients admitted on a weekday.