With suspected TB, behavioral support curbs smoking
(HealthDay)—Behavioral support with or without bupropion is effective at achieving smoking cessation in patients with suspected tuberculosis, according to a study published in the May 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Kamran Siddiqi, Ph.D., from the University of York in the United Kingdom, and colleagues randomly assigned health centers in Pakistan treating 1,955 adult smokers with suspected tuberculosis to provide two brief behavioral support sessions (BSS), BSS plus seven weeks of bupropion therapy (BSS+), or usual care.
The researchers found that both treatments led to statistically significant relative risks (RRs) for abstinence compared with usual care (RR for BSS+, 8.2; RR for BSS, 7.4). Equivalence between the two treatment strategies could not be determined. Continuous abstinence was achieved by 275 of 606 patients in the BSS+ group (45.4 percent), compared with 254 of 620 (41.0 percent) in the BSS group and 52 of 615 (8.5 percent) in the usual-care group. Across clusters, there was substantial heterogeneity of program effects.
"Behavioral support alone or in combination with bupropion is effective in promoting cessation in smokers with suspected tuberculosis," the authors write.
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