Pediatric patients with newly diagnosed leukemia who are admitted on weekends experience poorer clinical outcomes than those admitted during the week, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed hospital admissions for more than 10,000 newly diagnosed leukemia patients from 1999 to 2011 using the Pediatric Health Information System database.
Compared to patients admitted on a week day, researchers found patients admitted on a weekend experienced longer lengths of stay (1.4 day increase), increased time to chemotherapy (0.36 day increase) and a higher risk for respiratory failure.
Mortality rates were not significantly different between patients admitted on the weekend versus patients admitted on a weekday, according to the study.
Researchers suggest optimizing and increasing weekend resources, such as staff and access to diagnostic and therapeutic resources, could help reduce these negative clinical outcomes by ensuring availability of care.
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