Tobacco Treatment Guideline for High Risk Groups: A pilot study in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Introduction: Smoking cessation is a key clinical intervention for reducing progressive lung destruction and lung function deterioration in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Specialised Tobacco Cessation Guidelines for High-risk Groups (TOB-G) were developed and published in 2017 that present evidence-based recommendations to support smoking cessation in COPD patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the real world effectiveness of the TOB-G guideline recommendations among a sample of COPD patients.

Methods: A pilot study was conducted among a sample of COPD patients who smoke and were interested in quitting. Participants were recruited from inpatient and outpatient hospital admissions between October and December 2016 in Iasi, Romania. The intervention program was designed based on the recommendations of the TOB-G guidelines for COPD patients. Patients received a total of four contacts: at baseline, 1, 2, and 6 months. The primary outcome measure was biochemically validated point prevalence smoking abstinence measured at 6 months.

Results: Fifty patients (74% male; age mean±SD = 60.2±7.8) with diagnosed COPD took part in the pilot study. Self-reported rates of point prevalence smoking abstinence were 30.6%, 44.9% and 64.6% at the 1-, 2-, and 6-month follow-up, respectively. Carbon monoxide testing was completed with 51.6% of the sample at 6 months. The biochemically verified abstinent rate was 33.3% at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions: This pilot testing of the TOB-G Clinical Practice Guidelines for COPD patients was associated with high rates of patient smoking abstinence, which are of clinical importance. Further research is needed to evaluate the guidelines large-scale effectiveness in clinical practice.