Comparison of 30-day Readmission Rates and Inpatient Cardiac Procedures for Weekday Versus Weekend Hospital Admissions for Heart Failure

Nijat Aliyev; Muhammad Usman Almani; Muhammad Qudrat-Ullah; Javed Butler; Muhammad Shahzeb Khan; Stephen J Greene

doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2023.05.010

Comparison of 30-day Readmission Rates and Inpatient Cardiac Procedures for Weekday Versus Weekend Hospital Admissions for Heart Failure

J Card Fail. 2023 Oct;29(10):1358-1366. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2023.05.010. Epub 2023 May 25.

Authors

Nijat Aliyev¹, Muhammad Usman Almani², Muhammad Qudrat-Ullah³, Javed Butler⁴, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan⁵, Stephen J Greene⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
² Division of Cardiology, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
³ Division of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Permian Basin), Odessa, Texas.
⁴ Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, Dallas, Texas; Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi.
⁵ Division of Cardiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
⁶ Division of Cardiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina. Electronic address: stephen.greene@duke.edu.

PMID: 37244294
DOI: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2023.05.010

Abstract

Background: Whether the timing of hospital presentation impacts care delivery and clinical outcomes for patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) remains a matter of debate. In this study, we examined all-cause and HF-specific 30-day readmission rates for patients who were admitted for HF on a weekend vs admitted for HF on a weekday.

Methods and results: We conducted a retrospective analysis using the 2010-2019 Nationwide Readmission Database to compare 30-day readmission rates among patients who were admitted for HF on a weekday (Monday to Friday) vs patients who were admitted for HF on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday). We also compared in-hospital cardiac procedures and temporal trends in 30-day readmission by day of index hospital admission. Among 8,270,717 index HF hospitalizations, 6,302,775 were admitted on a weekday and 1,967,942 admitted on a weekend. For weekday and weekend admissions, the 30-day all-cause readmission rates were 19.8% vs 20.3%, and HF-specific readmission rates were 8.1% vs 8.4%, respectively. Weekend admissions were independently associated with higher risk of all-cause (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.05, P < .001) and HF-specific readmission (aOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.05, P < .001). Weekend HF admissions were less likely to undergo echocardiography (aOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.94-0.96, P < .001), right heart catheterization (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.79-0.81, P < .001), electrical cardioversion (aOR 0.90, 95% CI 0.88-0.93, P < .001), or receive temporary mechanical support devices (aOR 0.84, 95% CI 0.79-0.89, P < .001). The mean length of stay was shorter for weekend HF admissions (5.1 days vs 5.4 days, P < .001). Between 2010 and 2019, 30-day all-cause (18.5% to 18.2%, trend P < .001) and HF-specific (8.4% to 8.3%, trend P < .001) readmission rates decreased among weekday HF admissions. Among weekend HF admissions, the HF-specific 30-day readmission rate decreased (8.8% to 8.7%, trend P < .001), but the all-cause 30-day readmission rate remained stable (trend P = .280).

Conclusions: Among patients hospitalized for HF, weekend admissions were independently associated with excess risk of 30-day all-cause and HF-specific readmission and a lower likelihood of undergoing in-hospital cardiovascular testing and procedures. The 30-day all-cause readmission rate has decreased modestly over time among patients admitted on weekdays, but has remained stable among patients admitted on weekends.