Scoping review of e-cigarette use in the perioperative setting: a protocol

E-cigarette use (often referred to as 'vaping') has increased rapidly over the past decade. Tobacco smoking is a well-established risk factor for adverse perioperative outcomes. While UK guidance supports e-cigarette use as a harm reduction and smoking cessation strategy, the perioperative implications of e-cigarette use are unclear. This scoping review aims to map the breadth and nature of the available evidence on e-cigarette use in the perioperative setting. It will describe how perioperative e-cigarette use is defined and measured, identify the perioperative populations and settings which have been studied, summarise reported perioperative outcomes and identify key knowledge gaps that should be addressed in future research.

This review will be conducted in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central, Web of Science and grey literature sources will be systematically searched from 2003, when the first commercially available e-cigarette was introduced, to February 2026. Studies will be screened, and data extracted by two independent reviewers. Studies of any design examining perioperative e-cigarette use in the perioperative period, across all surgical specialities, will be included. Data will be synthesised narratively and presented using tabular and visual summaries. The study will be undertaken between 9 February and 1 August 2026.

Ethical approval is not required for scoping reviews. Findings will be disseminated by conference presentation and publication in a peer-reviewed open-access journal and communication with stakeholders.