Impact of weekend admission on mortality and other outcomes among patients with burn injury: A nationwide analysis

Objective To study the relationship between day of admission and important outcomes among patients with burn injuries. Methods The 2014 National Inpatient Sample database was used. Inclusion criterion was a principal diagnosis of burn injury. Exclusion criteria were age <18 years, superficial burn, and non-urgent admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were morbidity (septic shock and prolonged mechanical ventilation), treatment metrics (time to surgery and parenteral or enteral nutrition (P/E-nutrition)) and resource utilization (length of stay (LOS) and total hospitalization charges and costs). Confounders were adjusted for using multivariate regression analysis. Results A total of 21,665 patients were included, 29% of whom were admitted on weekends. Weekend admission was an independent predictor of mortality only among patients >65 years old (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.66 (1.13–4.51), p = 0.02). Although rates of septic shock were similar for both groups (aOR): 1.25 (0.74–2.09, p = 0.40), weekends were associated with higher odds of prolonged mechanical ventilation (aOR: 1.28 (1.06–1.55), p = 0.01). Time to surgery (adjusted mean difference (amDiff): 0.91 (−0.07 to 1.88) days, p = 0.07) and time to P/E-nutrition (amDiff: 0.40 (−3.51 to 4.30) days, p = 0.80) were similar for both groups. Finally, LOS was longer for weekend admission (amDiff: 1.36 (0.09–2.63) days, p = 0.04), but total charges and costs were similar for both groups (amDiff: $16,268 ($-5093–$37,629), p = 0.13 and $3275 ($-2337–$8888), p = 0.25). Conclusions Weekend admission is associated with increased mortality among patients with burn injury >65 years old. Weekend admission is also associated with increased morbidity and prolonged length of stay.