Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Impact of short duration smoking cessation on post-operative complications: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
Short term cessation of at least 2-4 weeks demonstrates benefits in reducing post-operative complications.
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing surgery with a defined preoperative smoking cessation interval55 studies
- Comparison
- Short-term preoperative smoking cessation vs active smoking
- Outcome
- Postoperative complications (pulmonary complications, surgical site infection, wound complication, bleeding, mortality, composite complications)
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Pulmonary complications
Each group vs active smokersRelative risk (95 % CI)
≥2 weeks27 % reduction
0.73(0.60–0.89)
≥4 weeks29 % reduction
0.71(0.61–0.82)
≥8 weeks37 % reduction
0.63(0.41–0.95)
Further pooled results
| Outcome | RR (95 % CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wound complications≥4 weeks vs Active smokers · 33 % lower risk | 0.67 (0.47–0.94) | |
| Composite complications≥4 weeks vs Active smokers · 31 % lower risk | 0.69 (0.63–0.76) | |
| Mortality≥4 weeks vs Active smokers · 14 % lower risk | 0.86 (0.77–0.97) | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
Surgical site infections and bleeding
- Short-term cessation did not seem to have a significant impact
Pulmonary complications, former smokers vs non-smokers
- More prevalent in former smokers than non-smokers, even after cessation
Original publication
Impact of short duration smoking cessation on post-operative complications: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Anesth. Published 20 August 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →