Nurse practitioner interventions for smokers with chronic hepatitis C.

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Public Health
• Addiction Medicine

Background:

• Smoking is a significant, yet often overlooked, risk factor for chronic hepatitis C disease progression.
• Effectiveness of current smoking cessation interventions for individuals with chronic hepatitis C remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of a combined telephone counseling and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) intervention for smoking cessation or reduction in chronic hepatitis C patients.
• To evaluate the impact of NRT plus counseling versus counseling alone on smoking behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 92 adult smokers attending hepatology outpatient clinics.
• Participants were randomized and stratified by smoking heaviness.
• Intervention group received NRT and telephone counseling; control group received telephone counseling only.
• Data collected at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks using analysis of variance to compare smoking reduction.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed initial smoking reduction at 6 weeks.
• The intervention group demonstrated sustained smoking reduction over 12 weeks, averaging 5.8 fewer cigarettes daily.
• The control group achieved a smaller average reduction of 1.6 fewer cigarettes daily at 12 weeks.

Conclusions:

• Combined NRT and individualized telephone counseling enhance smoking cessation prospects in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
• Implementing such interventions within routine hepatology outpatient appointments by nurse practitioners yields clinically significant results for smoking cessation.