The impact of smoking-related illness in the ED: an attributable risk model

The objective of this study was to estimate the clinical and economic impact of smoking among adult emergency department (ED) patients. An attributable risk analysis of patients seen in 2 urban EDs in 1998 was performed. Data were obtained from hospital databases, national sources describing the prevalence of smoking in the state, and risk ratios for smoking-related illnesses. Of 78,617 patient visits, 12,573 (16.0%) had any smoking-related International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision code. The smoking-attributable risk fraction (SARF) for all patients was 4.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.7%-5.0%). Of 13,245 admissions, 6.8% (95% CI 6.4%-7.2%) were smoking attributable. Of $296,962,685 in hospital charges, 10.0% (95% CI 9.9%-10.1%) were smoking attributable. The SARFs for ED visits, admissions, and charges for men were higher than for women (all P <.0001). Smoking-attributable illness accounts for 4.9% of ED adult visits, 6.8% of ED adult admissions, and 10.0% of hospital charges. The use of ED-based smoking intervention remains to be determined.