The study will evaluate the feasibility of integrating an intensive pre- post-surgical smoking cessation intervention into a hospital setting, and assess measures of postsurgical recovery as a function of smoking cessation status.
This study will evaluate the feasibility of integrating an intensive pre- post-surgical smoking cessation intervention (i.e., varenicline + monetary incentives + brief counseling) into a hospital setting by recruiting elective bariatric surgery patients and assessing theoretically relevant baseline characteristics (e.g., factors influencing smoking decisions, such as smoking motivation, delayed discounting, and distress tolerance) that may predict smoking cessation and post-surgical recovery outcomes. Participants will be required to attend a screening visit at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit (BPRU) located on the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus, during which the participants will answer questionnaires, complete computerized tasks, and undergo sensory testing. Participants will then attend approximately 6 weekly study visits leading up to their bariatric surgery, and approximately 6 more weekly study visits after the surgery, as well as a 30-day follow-up visit, all located at the BPRU at Johns Hopkins Bayview. During the 6 pre-surgery visits and 6 post-surgery visits, participants will undergo an intensive smoking cessation treatment that includes administration of a medication called varenicline that has been FDA-approved for smoking cessation, as well as behavioral counseling sessions and monetary incentives for remaining smoke-free. After completing all study visits, participants will be asked to return for a 30-day follow-up visit, during which they will complete several study measures once more. Throughout the study, participants will be asked to periodically complete questionnaires, computerized tasks, and sensory testing. Investigators will also track outcomes associated with post-surgical recovery, including duration of hospital stay, hospital readmission, post-surgical complications, and prescription pain-killer use post-surgery.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
5
Varenicline will be administered as clinically indicated and will begin approximately 4-6 weeks prior to surgery. All participants will receive a 1-week dose induction period before transitioning to a full maintenance dose.
Contingency Management payments will begin on the target quit date (week 2) and will be in place for 5 weeks or until surgery (whichever is sooner). Participants will receive monetary incentives for biochemical evidence of smoking abstinence.
All participants will complete a 3-session behavioral counseling intervention with a trained member of our study staff during 3 of the pre-surgical study visits. This brief counseling intervention provides participants with information about the experience of quitting smoking, including a benefits/disadvantage analysis, functional analysis of craving/risk periods, and skills-building exercises to prevent lapse and relapse.
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Change in Smoking Status
Smoking abstinence is defined the change in number of self-reported cigarettes smoked per week
Time frame: Assessed starting in week 2 of 12 weekly study visits
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