Starting elective cardiac surgery after 3 pm does not impact patient morbidity, mortality, or hospital costs

There is growing concern over the impact of fatigue and long work hours on patient safety. Our objective was to determine the perioperative outcomes and hospital costs associated with starting nonemergent cardiac surgical cases after 3 pm.A retrospective analysis was performed on adult patients who underwent elective coronary artery bypass or valve surgery at our institution between July 2011 and March 2018. Cases were defined as "late start" if...