Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4281400 The American Journal of Surgery 2008 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

BackgroundThe effect of the time of the academic year on cardiac surgical outcomes is unknown.MethodsUsing prospectively collected data, we identified all (n = 1,673) cardiac surgical procedures performed at our institution between October 1997 and April 2007. Morbidity and mortality rates were compared between 2 periods of the academic year, one early (July 1–August 31, n = 242) and one later in the year (September 1–June 30, n = 1,431). A prediction model was constructed by using stepwise logistic regression modeling.ResultsMorbidity rates did not differ significantly between the early (12.8%) and later periods (15.4%) (odds ratio [OR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54–1.28; P = 0.3). Additionally, there was no significant difference in operative mortality between the early (1.2%) and later periods (3.5%) (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.07–1.19; P = 0.06).ConclusionsThe early and later parts of the academic year were associated with similar risk-adjusted outcomes. Further studies are needed to determine whether our findings are applicable to other academic cardiac centers.

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