ArticleBMC health services research2010
Risk reduction before surgery. The role of the primary care provider in preoperative smoking and alcohol cessation.
Article in BMC health services research, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative pulmonary infection prevention and management in adult patients after coronary artery bypass grafting: a summary of best evidence.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Identifying and recruiting smokers for preoperative smoking cessation--a systematic review of methods reported in published studies.Systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Preoperative alcohol interventions for elective surgical patients: Results from a randomized pilot trial.Surgery · 2022Trial
- Brief counseling for smoking cessation and alcohol use reduction concomitant with hospital procedures: a randomized clinical trial.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2022Trial
- Role of Oral Nutritional Supplements in Minimizing the Risk of Postoperative Malnutrition in Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Surgery.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Primary Care Visit Frequency Is Associated With Diagnosis But Not Pharmacotherapy Prescribing for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder : AUD Pharmacotherapy Prescribing in Primary Care.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2025Article
- Prevalence, trends and outcomes from smoking in elective surgical systems: a secondary analysis of a prospective observational cohort study across 442 hospitals from 29 countries across Europe.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Reducing Alcohol Use Before and After Surgery: Qualitative Study of Two Treatment Approaches.JMIR perioperative medicine · 2023Article
- "It Is A Carrot-Stick Model": A Qualitative Study of Rural-Serving Clinician and Rural-Residing Veteran Perceptions of Requirements to Quit Smoking prior to Elective Surgery.Journal of smoking cessation · 2023Article
- A prospective cohort study evaluating screening and assessment of six modifiable risk factors in HPB cancer patients and compliance to recommended prehabilitation interventions.Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2021Article
- Implementing Facilitated Access to a Text Messaging, Smoking Cessation Intervention Among Swedish Patients Having Elective Surgery: Qualitative Study of Patients' and Health Care Professionals' Perspectives.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Article
- Weak smoking cessation awareness in primary health care before surgery: a real-world, retrospective cohort study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2020Article
- Optimizing perioperative care in bariatric surgery patients.Obesity surgery · 2012Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDaily smokers and hazardous drinkers are high-risk patients, developing 2-4 times more complications after surgery. Preoperative smoking and alcohol cessation for four to eight weeks prior to surgery halves this complication rate. The patients' preoperative contact with the surgical departments might be too brief for the hospital to initiate these programmes. Therefore, it was relevant to evaluate a new clinical practice which combined the general practitioner's (GP) referral to surgery with a referral to a smoking and alcohol intervention in the surgical pathway.
methodsThe design was an exploratory prospective trial. The outcome measured was the number of patients referred to a preoperative smoking and alcohol cessation programme at the same time as being referred for elective surgery by their GP. The participants consisted of 72 high-risk patients who were referred for elective surgery by 47 local participating GPs. The GPs, nurses, and specialists in internal medicine, prehabilitation and surgery developed new clinical practice guidelines based on the literature and interviews with 11 local GPs about the specific barriers for implementing a smoking and alcohol cessation programme. The role of the GP was to be the gatekeeper: identifying daily smokers and hazardous drinkers when referring them to surgery; handing out information on risk reduction; and referring those patients identified to a preoperative smoking and alcohol cessation programme. The role of the hospital was to contact these patients to initiate smoking and alcohol cessation at the hospital out-patient clinic for life-style intervention.
resultsThe GPs increased their referral to the smoking and alcohol cessation programme from 0% to 10% (7/72 patients) in the study period.
conclusionThe effect of the study was limited in integrating the efforts of primary care providers and hospital surgical departments in increasing the up-take of preoperative smoking and alcohol cessation programmes aimed at smokers and harmful drinkers referred for surgery. New strategies for cooperation between GPs and surgical departments are urgently needed.
trial registrationJ.nr. 2005-54-1781 in Danish Data Protection Agency. J.nr. 07 268136 in Scientific Ethical Committee for Copenhagen and Frederiksberg Municipalities.
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