Efficacy of a smoking‐cessation intervention for elective‐surgical patients

TLDR

The study tested an intervention to help smokers abstain before surgery, maintain abstinence postoperatively, and achieve long‑term cessation. A randomized trial of 237 presurgical smokers provided counseling and nicotine replacement therapy to encourage pre‑ and post‑operative abstinence. Participants receiving the intervention were more likely to abstain before surgery (73% vs 53%) and at 6 months post‑operatively (31.2% vs 20.2%), though abstinence rates at 12 months did not differ, indicating that pre‑operative cessation counseling and nicotine replacement effectively reduce short‑term tobacco use. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Res Nurs Health 27:148–161.

Abstract

Abstract We tested an intervention to help smokers abstain (fast) from smoking before surgery, maintain abstinence postoperatively, and achieve long‐term cessation. A randomized experiment included 237 patients admitted for presurgical assessment who smoked. The intervention included counseling and nicotine replacement therapy. Treatment group participants (73.0%) were more likely to fast than were controls (53.0%): χ 2 (1, N = 228) = 8.89, p = .003, and more likely to be abstinent 6 months after surgery (31.2% vs. 20.2%). There was no significant difference in the abstinence rates at 12 months after surgery, χ 2 (1, N = 169) <.001, p = 1.00. Encouraging patients to fast from smoking before surgery and postoperative support are efficacious ways to reduce preoperative and immediate post‐operative tobacco use. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 27:148–161, 2004