Pulmonary embolism: the weekend effect.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pulmonary embolism is a common, often fatal condition that requires timely recognition and rapid institution of therapy. Previous studies have documented worse outcomes for weekend admissions for a variety of time-sensitive medical conditions. This phenomenon has not been clearly demonstrated for pulmonary embolism.

Methods

We used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2000 to 2008 to identify people with a principal discharge diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. We classified admissions as weekend if they occurred between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday. We compared all-cause in-hospital mortality between weekend and weekday admissions and investigated the timing of inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement and thro

SUBMITTER: Nanchal R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4694190 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature