Trial reportAnnals of surgery2003
Abstinence from smoking reduces incisional wound infection: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Annals of surgery, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00825851 (Effect of Smoking, Abstention and Nicotine Replacement Therapy on Wound Healing), which is not on this map. Cited by 129 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effect of Smoking, Abstention and Nicotine Replacement Therapy on Wound Healing
Who cites it
129 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 546 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk Factors for Infection After Ankle, Knee, Hip, Shoulder, or Elbow Arthroscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.The American journal of sports medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Guidelines for preoperative pulmonary function assessment in patients with lung cancer who will undergo surgery (The Japanese Association for Chest Surgery).General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2025Guideline
- The impact of electronic cigarettes on the outcomes of total joint arthroplasty.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2024Pooled it
- Risk factors for surgical site infection in patients undergoing colorectal surgery: A meta-analysis of observational studies.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Consensus Review of Optimal Perioperative Care in Breast Reconstruction: Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) Society Recommendations.Plastic and reconstructive surgery · 2017Guideline
- Interventions for preoperative smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Guidelines for perioperative care for pancreaticoduodenectomy: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society recommendations.World journal of surgery · 2013Guideline
- Guidelines for perioperative care in elective colonic surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS(®)) Society recommendations.World journal of surgery · 2013Guideline
- Risk factors for early reherniation after lumbar discectomy with or without annular closure: results of a multicenter randomized controlled study.Acta neurochirurgica · 2021Trial
- Perioperative smoking cessation in vascular surgery: challenges with a randomized controlled trial.Trials · 2015Trial
- Strategies of smoking cessation intervention before hernia surgery--effect on perioperative smoking behavior.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2007Trial
- Risk Modulation by Electronic Cigarette Consumption in Cardiovascular Disease and Its Relevance in Cardiac Surgery-A Narrative Review.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Review
- Prehabilitation for Pressure Ulcer Surgery: A Practical and Evidence-based Guide.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Improving Patient Outcomes by Bridging Bariatric and Body Contouring Surgery with Comprehensive Prehabilitation.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales causing wound infections in Ibadan, Nigeria: Phenotypic resistance and detection ofIJID regions · 2026Article
- Incidence of Wound Infection After Abdominoplasty: A Retrospective Observational Study.Cureus · 2026Article
- Smoking cessation and weight loss before ventral hernia repair - can we really justify this? A single center cohort study.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026Article
- The impact of preoperative optimization for abdominal wall reconstruction on long-term glucose control and smoking cessation.Surgical endoscopy · 2025Article
- Article
- Evaluating Outcomes in Septorhinoplasty Procedures Using Serum Cotinine as a Measure for Tobacco Use.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
69 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveClinical studies show that the incidence of postoperative wound complications is higher in smokers than nonsmokers. In this study, we evaluated the effect of abstinence from smoking on incisional wound infection.
methodsSeventy-eight healthy subjects (48 smokers and 30 never-smokers) were included in the study and followed for 15 weeks. In the first week of the study, the smokers smoked 20 cigarettes per day. Subsequently, they were randomized to continuous smoking, abstinence with transdermal nicotine patch (25 mg per day), or abstinence with placebo patch. At the end of the first week and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after randomization, incisional wounds were made lateral to the sacrum to excise punch biopsy wounds. At the same time identical wounds were made in 6 never-smokers. In 24 never-smokers a wound was made once. All wounds were followed for 2 weeks for development of wound complications.
resultsA total of 228 wounds were evaluated. In smokers the wound infection rate was 12% (11 of 93 wounds) compared with 2% (1 of 48 wounds) in never-smokers (P <0.05). Wound infections were significantly fewer in abstinent smokers compared with continuous smokers after 4, 8, and 12 weeks after randomization. No difference between transdermal nicotine patch and placebo was found.
conclusionsSmokers have a higher wound infection rate than never-smokers and 4 weeks of abstinence from smoking reduces the incidence of wound infections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.