Smoking Cessation Initiatives in Total Joint Arthroplasty: An Evidence-Based Review

As smoking increases the risk of adverse events and leads to increased hospital costs following total joint arthroplasty (TJA), many institutions have introduced perioperative smoking cessation initiatives. Although such programs have been demonstrated to improve outcomes for smokers undergoing TJA, the optimal approach, duration, and timing of smoking cessation models have not been well-defined.

Overall, initiating a smoking cessation program 4 weeks preoperatively is likely adequate to provide clinically meaningful reductions in postoperative complications for smokers following TJA, although longer periods of cessation should be encouraged if feasible.

Patients brought in for emergency surgical treatment who cannot participate in a preoperative intervention may still benefit from an intervention instituted in the immediate postoperative period.

Cotinine testing may provide some benefit for encouraging successful smoking cessation and validating self-reported smoking status, although its utility is limited by its short half-life. Further study is needed to determine the value of other measures of cessation such as carbon monoxide breath testing.

Smoking cessation programs instituted prior to TJA have been demonstrated to be cost-effective over both the short and long term.