Time of Day of Cardiac Surgery and Postoperative Outcomes in the UK: A Secondary Analysis of Linked National Datasets

This article examines the impact of surgery timing on postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery. An analysis of data from 24,068 patients revealed that surgeries performed in the late morning (10:00 to 11:59) had the highest predicted risk of death from cardiovascular disease (3.7 percent) compared to early morning (3.2 percent), early afternoon (2.8 percent), and later afternoon (3.1 percent) surgeries. The late morning procedures showed an increased hazard of death (adjusted hazard ratio 1.18), but no differences were found in readmission rates or secondary outcomes. These results suggest that factors specific to late morning surgeries may influence outcomes, highlighting the need for further research into the role of circadian rhythms in surgical scheduling.