1041: Weekend Deaths Lagging Behind Weekday Deaths: Mere Coincidence or an Actual Miss?

Fatima, Sahar; Sunesara, Shaleen; Khan, Rida; Khan, Tooba; Surani, Salim; Masud, Faisal; Ratnani, Iqbal

doi:10.1097/01.ccm.0000730052.89540.54

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“…Some studies have explored mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early studies during the pandemic have demonstrated an increase in mortality on weekdays compared to weekends [ 6 – 8 ]. One study evaluated behaviour change and found an increase in mobility on weekdays as a potential proxy for social distancing and predictor of mortality risk [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 deaths on weekends

Manzoor,

Redelmeier

2023

BMC Public Health

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Background Mortality statistics about daily deaths might change on weekends due to delays in reporting, uneven staffing, a different mix of personnel, or decreased efficiency. We hypothesized that reported deaths for COVID-19 might increase on weekends compared to weekdays. Methods We collected data from the World Health Organization COVID-19 database. All deaths from March 7, 2020 to March 7, 2022 were included (two years). The primary analysis evaluated mean daily deaths on weekends compared to the preceding five workdays. Analyses were replicated in ten individual countries: United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, India, Brazil, and Canada. Results The mean COVID-19 daily deaths was higher on weekends compared to weekdays (8,532 vs. 8,083 p < 0.001), equal to a 6% relative increase (95% confidence interval 3% to 8%). The highest absolute increase was in the United States (1,483 vs. 1,220 deaths, p < 0.001). The second highest absolute increase was in Brazil (1,061 vs. 823 deaths, p < 0.001). The increase in deaths on weekends remained significant during the earlier and later months of the pandemic, as well as during the greater and lesser weeks of the pandemic. Conclusions The apparent increased COVID-19 deaths reported on weekends might potentially reflect patient care, confound community trends, and affect the public perception of risk.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%