Background: Infectious diseases are usually treatable; however, infectious disease is one of the most common causes of mortality in hospitals. Furthermore, an apparent functional stagnation around the weekends in hospitals can increase the mortality rate. The goal of this study is to describe the causes and predisposing factors of mortality and to evaluate the role of holidays on patient mortality in infectious disease wards.

Methods: In this retrospective descriptive-analytic study, we examined the files of patients who had expired while hospitalized in the infectious disease ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital from 2002 to 2004. All of the information was gathered from patient files and the mortality committee of Imam Khomeini Hospital. Patient mortality rates were determined for each year. Mortality rates for the various days of the week were estimated and compared for 2004.

Results: The total number of patients included in this study was 3979. Of these, 216 cases had expired, 143 of whom were male (66%). The common causes of mortality were sepsis (26%) bacterial pneumonia (22%) and tuberculosis (19%). The mortality rates were 5.08%, 5.31% and 5.84% in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. In 2004, mortality rates were 9.21%, 10.21% and 4.56% for holidays, pre-holidays and other days of week, respectively. A significantly higher rate of mortality was observed for holidays and pre-holidays compared to the other days of week. (P value <0.05).

Conclusions: Fortunately, the mortality rate of 5.43% in this infectious disease ward was not high. Since sepsis, bacterial pneumonia and tuberculosis were the most common causes of mortality, extra care of patients with these diseases is necessary. As a result of the findings of this study, we recommend increasing expert hospital staff and improving the quality of diagnostic and treatment services during holidays and pre-holidays.