• V Derlon, N Wirth, P-Y Martinet, U McNelis, L Minary, S Boileau, H Bouaziz, and les membres du bureau de l’Institut lorrain d’anesthésie-réanimation (Ilar).
• Département d'anesthésie-réanimation, CHU de Nancy, 29, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 54000 Nancy, France.
• Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2013 Feb 1;32(2):89-93.

IntroductionEvidence shows that smoking leads to more perioperative complications. Smoking cessation before surgery reduces this postoperative morbidity. The French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care published recommendations on this subject in 2005. We wanted to assess knowledge and practice amongst anaesthetists in Lorraine as regards the management of smoking in the perioperative period.MethodsWe conducted an internet-based survey of 365 anaesthetists in the Lorraine region during November and December 2011. At the same time, we also surveyed patients attending pre-assessment clinic at the CHU hospital, Nancy.ResultsHalf the practitioners surveyed were aware of the 2005 guidelines. Most pre-assessment clinics do not display posters warning of the perioperative hazards of smoking. The need for smoking cessation advice as a bare minimum is acknowledged by 47.9% of experienced practitioners; 76.3% of anaesthetists claim to offer advice occasionally, frequently or systematically. On the other hand, only 17% of the patients surveyed report receiving such advice.ConclusionDespite published guidelines on the benefits of smoking cessation prior to surgery, Lorraine anaesthetists fail to systematically advise their patients in this regard. We believe there is a need to improve the management of these patients, either through the development of smoking cessation protocols locally or through patient referral to a specialised clinic.Copyright © 2013 Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

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