Smoking abstinence 1 year after acute coronary syndrome: follow-up from a randomized controlled trial of varenicline in patients admitted to hospital.

Smoking abstinence 1 year after acute coronary syndrome: follow-up from a randomized controlled trial of varenicline in patients admitted to hospital. CMAJ. 2018 Mar 26;190(12):E347-E354 Authors: Windle SB, Dehghani P, Roy N, Old W, Grondin FR, Bata I, Iskander A, Lauzon C, Srivastava N, Clarke A, Cassavar D, Dion D, Haught H, Mehta SR, Baril JF, Lambert C, Madan M, Abramson BL, Eisenberg MJ, EVITA Investigators Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients who continue to smoke after acute coronary syndrome are at increased risk of reinfarction and death. We previously found use of varenicline to increase abstinence 24 weeks after acute coronary syndrome; here we report results through 52 weeks. METHODS: The EVITA trial was a multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of varenicline for smoking cessation in patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive varenicline or placebo for 12 weeks, in conjunction with low-intensity counselling. Smoking abstinence was assessed via 7-day recall, with biochemical validation using exhaled carbon monoxide. Participants lost to follow-up or withdrawn were assumed to have returned to smoking. RESULTS: Among the 302 participants, abstinence declined over the course of the trial, with 34.4% abstinent 52 weeks after acute coronary syndrome. Compared with placebo, point estimates suggest use of varenicline increased ...
Source: cmaj - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CMAJ Source Type: research