• David Lindström, Omid Sadr Azodi, Andreas Wladis, Hanne Tønnesen, Stefan Linder, Hans Nåsell, Sari Ponzer, and Johanna Adami.
• Surgery Section, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. David.lindstrom@ki.se
• Ann. Surg. 2008 Nov 1;248(5):739-45.

ObjectiveTo determine whether an intervention with smoking cessation starting 4 weeks before general and orthopedic surgery would reduce the frequency of postoperative complications.Summary Background DataComplications are a major concern after elective surgery and smokers have an increased risk. There is insufficient evidence concerning how the duration of preoperative smoking intervention affects postoperative complications.MethodsA randomized controlled trial, conducted between February 2004 and December 2006 at 4 university-affiliated hospitals in the Stockholm region, Sweden. The outcome assessment was blinded. The follow-up period for the primary outcome was 30 days. Eligibility criteria were active daily smokers, aged 18 to 79 years. Of the 238 patients assessed, 76 refused participating, and 117 men and women undergoing surgery for primary hernia repair, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or a hip or knee prosthesis were enrolled.InterventionSmoking cessation therapy with individual counseling and nicotine substitution started 4 weeks before surgery and continued 4 weeks postoperatively. The control group received standard care. The main outcome measure was frequency of any postoperative complication.ResultsAn intention-to-treat analysis showed that the overall complication rate in the control group was 41%, and in the intervention group, it was 21% (P = 0.03). Relative risk reduction for the primary outcome of any postoperative complication was 49% and number needed to treat was 5 (95% CI, 3-40). An analysis per protocol showed that abstainers had fewer complications (15%) than those who continued to smoke or only reduced smoking (35%), although this difference was not statistically significant.ConclusionPerioperative smoking cessation seems to be an effective tool to reduce postoperative complications even if it is introduced as late as 4 weeks before surgery.

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