Introduction: Assisting smokers to quit before surgery reduces surgical site infection (SSI) risk. The short-term economic benefits of reducing SSIs by embedding tobacco dependence treatment in Australian hospitals are unknown. Estimated annual number of SSIs prevented, and hospital bed-days (HBD) and costs saved from reducing smoking before surgery are calculated.
Methods: The most recent number of surgical procedures and SSI rates for Australia were sourced. The number of smokers and non-smokers having a SSI were calculated using the UK Royal College of Physicians reported adjusted odds ratio (1.79), and the proportion of SSIs attributable to smoking calculated. The potential impact fraction was used to estimate reductions in SSIs and associated HBDs and costs from reducing the smoking rates among surgical patients from 23.9% to 10% or 5% targets. Uncertainty around the final estimates was calculated using probabilistic sensitivity analysis.
Results: In 2016-17, approximately 40,593 (95% UI 32,543, 50,239) people having a surgical procedure in Australia experienced a SSI leading to 101,888 extra days (95% UI 49,988, 200,822) in hospital. If the smoking rate among surgical patients was reduced to 10%, 3,580 (95% UI 2,312, 5,178) SSIs would be prevented, and 8,985 (95% UI 4,094, 19,153) HBDs and $19.1M (95% UI $7.7M, $42.5M) saved in one year. If the smoking rate was reduced to 5%, 4,867 (95% UI 3,268, 6,867) SSIs would be prevented, and 12,217 (95% UI 5,614, 25,642) HBDs and $26.0M (95% UI $10.8M, $57.0M) would be saved.
Conclusions: The findings suggest achieving smoking rate targets of 10% or 5% would provide substantial short-term health and economic benefits through reductions in SSIs. Embedding tobacco dependence treatment in Australian hospitals would provide value for money by reducing costs and improving clinical quality and safety. A more comprehensive, modelled economic evaluation synthesising the best available evidence is needed to confirm findings.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8386862 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0256424 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Evaluating Paediatric Injury Hospitalisations From Indoor Trampoline Parks Across Australia: A Multi-Centre Study.
J Paediatr Child Health
January 2025
School of Clinical Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Aim: The introduction and increasing popularity of indoor trampoline facilities has seen increases in the incidence of trampoline park injuries (TPIs), particularly amongst the paediatric population. A challenge to the development of effective injury prevention interventions is the limited study pool of detailed activity and outcome data to provide better understanding of the characteristics of injurious events.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of individuals under 16 years of age hospitalised after TPI from November 2018 to December 2021 was conducted.
Impact of Frailty on Antihypertensive Treatment in Older Adults.
Hypertension
January 2025
The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Newtown, Australia (L.C., S.Y., N.E., M.W., T.L., Y.G., C.S.A., K.H., X.C., R.P.).
Background: The association between systolic blood pressure and all-cause mortality differs between frail and nonfrail individuals, highlighting uncertainties about the effectiveness of antihypertensive treatments in frail populations.
Methods: Using data from the SHEP trial (Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program), a baseline frailty index (FI), including 55 variables, was constructed. Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard models and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to explore the association between baseline FI and the risks of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause death, as well as to examine whether the impact of antihypertensive treatment on these outcomes was modified by baseline FI.
A co-registration method to validate optical coherence tomography in the breast surgical cavity.
Heliyon
January 2025
BRITElab, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre Nedlands and Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Breast-conserving surgery accompanied by adjuvant radiotherapy is the standard of care for patients with early-stage breast cancer. However, re-excision is reported in 20-30 % of cases, largely because of close or involved tumor margins in the specimen. Several intraoperative tumor margin assessment techniques have been proposed to overcome this issue, however, none have been widely adopted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtocol for the MERINO study: A randomized placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of methotrexate in people with erosive hand osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthr Cartil Open
March 2025
Center for Treatment of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (REMEDY), Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Objective: Previous studies on the efficacy of methotrexate in people with hand osteoarthritis (OA) have shown conflicting results. The MERINO trial aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of methotrexate in people with painful inflammatory erosive hand OA.
Design: In total 163 participants with erosive hand OA, synovitis by ultrasound, and finger joint pain of 40-80 mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS) will be recruited from a rheumatology outpatient clinic.
Incidence of cancer-related lymphoedema: a protocol for a living systematic review with meta-analysis.
BMJ Open
December 2024
School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Introduction: Given the projected rise in the incidence of cancer treatment-related conditions, such as lymphoedema, and the limited research on lymphoedema in cancers with poor prognoses, there is a need for a better understanding of cancer-related lymphoedema incidence and associated risk factors across all types of cancers. The objectives of this review are (1) to produce a resource on an open-access platform that facilitates continuous update of incidence estimates and risk factors as evidence emerges, (2) to provide the most up-to-date estimate of the incidence of cancer-related lymphoedema and (3) to evaluate the strength and consistency of the association between lymphoedema and cancer treatment and non-treatment-related risk factors.
Methods And Analysis: A living systematic and grey literature search will be conducted to identify studies reporting the incidence, prevalence of lymphoedema or associated risk factors in individuals who have undergone treatment for any type of cancer.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!