What is it about?
In England, the government has claimed that patients admitted over the weekend suffer higher mortality. However there is a day-of-week cycle in blood biochemistry which may explain the higher deaths for weekend admissions.
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Why is it important?
Composite scores based on blood biochemistry and other vital signs can be used to detect patients at high risk of death.
Perspectives
While shedding light on the issue of weekend mortality this paper raises vital questions regarding the use of biochemical data in population epidemiology and disease outbreaks.
Dr Rodney P Jones
Healthcare Analysis & Forecasting
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Complex Changes in Blood Biochemistry Revealed by a Composite Score Derived from Principal Component Analysis: Effects of Age, Patient Acuity, End of Life, Day-of Week, and Potential Insights into the Issues Surrounding the ‘Weekend’ Effect in Hospital..., British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, January 2016, Sciencedomain International,
DOI: 10.9734/bjmmr/2016/29355.
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