Long-term effectiveness of the preoperative smoking cessation programme at Western Health

Abstract

Background: Smoking is associated with adverse effects in the perioperative period, including elevated risk of death. The perioperative period provides an opportunity to engage with patients who are smokers to encourage smoking cessation, often referred to as a ‘teachable moment’. We developed a smoking intervention model for the pre-admission clinic (PAC) at Western Health, Victoria, Australia. This case series aimed to assess the impact of the smoking intervention model, which is standard of care, on the participant's smoking habits over four time points. Methods: We enrolled 50 consecutive participants for elective surgery who were smokers and had attended PAC at Western Health, Footscray..