Authors
Qaidar Alizai, Lorenza Arena, Selamawit Woldesenbet, Timothy M Pawlik
Published in
Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. Pages 102632. Oct 09, 2026. Epub Oct 09, 2026.
Abstract
Postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) admission represents an important escalation of care after surgery. We evaluated the association between ICU admission timing and outcomes after gastrointestinal (GI) cancer surgery.
Adults undergoing GI cancer surgery with postoperative ICU care were identified in Epic Cosmos from 2016 to 2025 and classified as weekday, weekend-day, weeknight, or weekend-night admission. Outcomes included complications during the index hospitalization and within 30 days, 30-day mortality, readmission, discharge home, and prolonged length of stay (LOS ≥75th percentile of the cohort). Multivariable logistic regression evaluated associations between ICU timing and outcomes.
Among 77,054 patients, 36.4% were classified as weekday, 15.4% weekend-day, 25.0% weeknight, and 23.2% weekend-night. Weekend-night classification was associated with the highest adjusted odds of 30-day mortality (aOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.42-1.63), any 30-day complication (aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.69-1.84), and prolonged LOS (aOR 2.32, 95% CI 2.21-2.44), as well as lower odds of discharge home (aOR 0.70, 95% CI 0.67-0.73). Weeknight classification was also associated with higher odds of mortality (aOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.20-1.37), complications (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.36-1.48), and prolonged LOS (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.47-1.64).
Nighttime ICU classification, particularly weekend-night classification, identified patients at elevated postoperative risk after GI cancer surgery and may help inform surveillance and escalation strategies during off-hours.
PMID:
42854823
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Oct 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 4
- Comments 0