Challenges in conducting a randomized controlled trial of nicotine replacement therapy in smoking cessation /
In Hong Kong, smoking kills 5,700 persons per year. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is one of the important treatments for smoking cessation. It substitutes the nicotine in cigarettes and, with time, dosage of NRT would be reduced, which in turn helps patients to quit smoking. Studies suggest tha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London :
SAGE Publications Ltd.,
2020.
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| Series: | SAGE Research Methods Cases : Medicine and Health.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | In Hong Kong, smoking kills 5,700 persons per year. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is one of the important treatments for smoking cessation. It substitutes the nicotine in cigarettes and, with time, dosage of NRT would be reduced, which in turn helps patients to quit smoking. Studies suggest that abstinence rates are higher with combined NRT than single NRT, although local data on safety and benefits of combined NRT are lacking. Combined NRT refers to using two types of NRT for smoking cessation, that is, a long-acting nicotine patch on daily basis plus nicotine gum whenever cravings occur. Single NRT refers to using one type of NRT only when cravings occur for smoking cessation. The aim of our study is to compare the effectiveness of combined NRT with single NRT among Hong Kong Chinese. Our case was a 1-year, two-arm, parallel randomized trial; 560 smokers were recruited from 20 outpatient clinics across the territory and randomized to two groups: combined and single NRT. Primary outcome was abstinence rate measured as self-reported 7-day point prevalence with carbon monoxide validated at 52 weeks. Secondary outcomes included smoking abstinence rates at 4, 12, and 26 weeks. Adjusted odds ratio and p value were reported from logistic regression; for trend analysis, adjusted odds ratio and p value were reported from generalized estimating equation (controlling for time). The results showed that the abstinence rates at 4, 12, 26, and 52 weeks were all higher in the combined NRT group (35.8%, 21.9%, 16.8%, 20.1%) compared with the single NRT group (28%, 16.8%, 11.2%, 14.3%). From generalized estimating equation analysis, combined NRT group had a significantly higher abstinence rate (23.6%) than the single NRT group (17.6%) across repeated measures at all time points. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781529744590 1529744598 |