Study Ties Pediatric Leukemia Patients' Weekend Hospitalization to Longer Stay

A new study reveals that weekend hospitalization of pediatric leukemia patients was linked to longer stay at the hospital.  

The study, led by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, included evaluation of the clinical outcomes related to weekend admission for pediatric patients newly-diagnosed with leukemia. They found that these patients' admission during the weekend was linked to a longer stay, even longer wait to begin chemotherapy and they suffered a higher risk of respiratory failure. However, the weekend admissions were not tied to an increased mortality risk.

Leukemia is known as the common childhood cancer that accounts for almost 30 percent of all the pediatric cancer diagnoses. Studies conducted earlier revealed that adults with leukemia whose first admission was done on a weekend faced a higher mortality risk. But, very few have investigated this association.

The current study, led by Elizabeth K Goodman, assessed the data retrieved from the Pediatric Health Information System database. It includes children who were newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

There were 10,720 patients who were newly diagnosed with ALL and 1,323 who were newly diagnosed with AML. Out of these, 2,009 patients were admitted on weekends. The researchers noticed that those who were admitted for the first time on a weekend did not face an elevated risk of mortality during the stay, but they did stay for a longer period and waited for a little longer duration to start chemotherapy. They also had a higher risk for respiratory failure.

"Given the increasing need for cost-effective care in medically complex children, these findings highlight a potential area for improvement in patient care and in cost reduction. Hospitals should consider the increased acuity level of index admissions of pediatric patients with leukemia when determining allocation of weekend staff and clinical resources. Optimizing weekend resources may not only help to reduce hospital LOS (length of stay) across all weekend admissions but may also ensure the availability of comprehensive care for those weekend admissions with higher acuity," researchers said.

The finding was documented in JAMA Pediatrics.