Abstract
Background: The weekend effect is a phenomenon characterized by
increased early all-cause mortality among patients hospitalized or
undergoing surgery over the weekend for emergencies. Objectives: With
this meta-analysis we aimed to determine whether weekend
hospitalization/surgery due to acute aortic syndromes (AAS) is
associated with increased early all-cause mortality. Methods:Major
electronic databases were searched for studies published up to October
2020 reporting early all-cause mortality rates for admissions/operations
on weekends versus weekdays. Data were pooled using fixed- and
random-effects models. The primary outcome of the study was early
all-cause mortality after weekend versus weekday. Results: All the
included studies were retrospective, comparative or cohort studies
enrolling patients admitted or underwent surgery for AAS and reported
early all-cause mortality after weekend (including holiday) versus
weekday. A total of 18 studies including a total of 252807 patients were
identified. This meta-analysis showed a significant increase in the
early all-cause mortality for patients admitted/conducted surgery for
AAS on weekends compare with weekdays (fixed-effect: OR 1.1;95% CI
1.06-1.14;P<0.00001). Conclusion: Weekend admission/surgery for AAS is
associated with a increased risk of early all-cause mortality.