Comparing the Effects of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Nursing Counseling on Smoking Cessation among the Candidates for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A Clinical Trial

Background: There is limited data about the effects of smoking cessation (SC) strategies among the candidates for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and nursing counseling (NC) on SC among the candidates for CABG. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was made in the heart center of Afshar hospital, Yazd, Iran. Sixty candidates for elective bypass graft were recruited and were randomly allocated either to a NC or a NRT group. Study interventions were implemented from 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after the surgery. Before and after hospitalization for the surgery, patients in the counseling group received telephone counseling while during their 1‑week hospital stay, they received face‑to‑face counseling. Patients in the NRT group received nicotine gums before and after hospitalization and were treated with nicotine patches during their 1‑week hospital stay. Data were collected through three questionnaires. The Chi‑square and the independent‑sample t tests were run to analyze the data. Results: SC rate in the counseling group was significantly higher than the NRT group (63.3% vs. 33.3%; P = 0.038). Moreover, cessation rate among the participants with lower nicotine dependency was significantly greater than those with moderate‑to‑severe dependency (P = 0.01). Conclusion: NC is more effective than NRT in improving SC rate among the candidates for CABG.