Introduction: A 2012 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on emergency department-initiated tobacco control (ETC) showed only short-term efficacy. The aim of this study was to update data through May 2015.
Methods: After registering the study protocol on the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) in May 2015, we searched 7 databases and the gray literature. Our outcome of interest was the point prevalence of tobacco-use abstinence at 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month follow-up. We calculated the relative risk (RR) of tobacco-use abstinence after ETC at each follow-up time separately for each study and then pooled Mantel-Haenszel RRs by follow-up time. These results were pooled with results of the 7 studies included in the previous review. We calculated the effect of ETC on the combined point prevalence of tobacco-use abstinence across all follow-up times by using generalized linear mixed models.
Results: We retrieved 4 additional studies, one published as an abstract, comprising 1,392 participants overall. The 1-month follow-up point prevalence of tobacco-use abstinence after ETC resulted in an RR of 1.49 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-2.05) across 3 studies; 3-month follow-up, an RR of 1.38 (95% CI, 1.12-1.71) across 9 studies; 6-month follow-up, an RR of 1.09 (95% CI, 0.84-1.41) across 6 studies; and 12-month follow-up, an RR of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.00-1.59) across 3 studies. The effect on the combined point prevalence of abstinence was an RR of 1.40 (95% CI, 1.06-1.86) (P = .02).
Conclusion: ETC is effective in promoting continual tobacco-use abstinence up to 12 months after intervention. ETC may be a critically important public health strategy for engaging hard-to-reach smokers in tobacco-use cessation.