Starting elective cardiac surgery after 3 pm does not impact patient morbidity, mortality, or hospital costs.

Andrea L. Axtell; Philicia Moonsamy; Serguei Melnitchouk; Arminder S. Jassar; Mauricio A. Villavicencio; David A. D'Alessandro; George Tolis; Duke E. Cameron; Thoralf M. Sundt

Study

Starting elective cardiac surgery after 3 pm does not impact patient morbidity, mortality, or hospital costs.

November 6, 2019

Axtell AL, Moonsamy P, Melnitchouk S, et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019.

View more articles from the same authors.

Physician work hours and fatigue can impact patient safety, particularly among subspecialties focused on high-risk patients. This retrospective cohort study examined outcomes of patients undergoing nonemergent cardiac surgery occurring before or after 3pm. The investigators found no differences in mortality, complications, or length of stay and posit that this may stem from resource availability in these specialized care settings regardless of the time of day.

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Operating Room

Physicians

Facility and Group Administrators

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation

Starting elective cardiac surgery after 3 pm does not impact patient morbidity, mortality, or hospital costs.

Awareness of human factors in the operating theatres during the COVID-19 pandemic

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