| Does work time limit for resident physician affect short-term treatment outcome and hospital length of stay in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage?: a two-year experience at a single training hospital in South Korea |
Rojin Heo1, Cheol Wan Park1,2 
, Chan Jong You1,2, Dae Han Choi1,2, Kwangwoo Park1,2, Young Bo Kim1, Woo Kyung Kim1, Gi-Taek Yee1, Myeong-Jin Kim1, Jin-Hwan Oh3 |
1Department of Neurosurgery, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea
2Department of Emergency Medicine, Section of Critical Care Medicine, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea
3Integrative Medicine Research Institute, Jangheung Integrative Medical Hospital, Wonkwang University, Jangheung, Korea |
Correspondence:
Cheol Wan Park, Tel: +82-32-460-3304, Fax: +82-32-460-3899,
Email: cwpark@gilhospital.com
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Received: 27 May 2020 • Revised: 21 July 2020 • Accepted: 13 August 2020 |
| Abstract |
Objective
To compare short-term treatment outcomes at hospital discharge and hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) before and after introduction of resident physician work time limit (WTL).
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients treated for sICH at our institution between 2016 and 2019. Then we dichotomized these patients into two groups, pre-WTL and post-WTL. We analyzed demographic elements and clinical features, and hospital length of stay (LOS). We evaluated short-term outcome using modified Rankin scale score at hospital discharge and then divided it into “good” and “poor” outcome groups. We subsequently, compared short-term treatment outcome and hospital LOS between the pre-WTL and post-WTL groups.
Results
Out of 779 patients, 420 patients (53.9%) were included in the pre-WTL group, and 359 (46.1%) in post-WTL. The mortality rate in sICH patients was higher in the post-WTL group (pre-WTL; 13.6% vs. post-WTL; 17.3%), but there was no statistically significant difference in short-term outcome including mortality (p=0.332) between the groups. The LOS also, was not significantly different between the two groups (pre-WTL; 19.0 days vs. post-WTL; 20.2 days) (p=0.341). The initial Glasgow Coma Scale score, personal stroke history, and mean age were the only independent outcome predicting factors for patients with sICH.
Conclusions
Some neurosurgeons may expect poorer outcome for sICH after implementation of the WTL of the K-MHW for resident physician however, enforcement of the WTL did not significantly influence the short-term outcome and hospital LOS for sICH in our hospital. Further well-designed multi-institutional prospective studies on the effects of WTL in sICH patient outcome, are anticipated. |
| Key Words:
Work hour restriction, Resident, Mortality, Outcome, Length of stay |
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