A randomized controlled trial of smoking cessation methods in patients newly-diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco use are two major alarming global health issues that tend to be co-prevalent in many developing countries and various surveys have provided evidence on their entangled associations. Accordingly, it is strongly suggested that smoking cessation be incorporated in TB control programs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two smoking cessation methods among newly-diagnosed pulmonary TB patients. METHODS: A total of 210 newly-diagnosed pulmonary TB patients from Tehran, Iran with smoking habits were included in this randomized clinical trial during 2012–2013. Patients were assigned to three groups of control (just TB medical treatment), brief advice (TB medical treatment plus individualized counseling sessions of quitting behavioral therapy) and combined intervention (TB medical treatment plus individualized counseling sessions of quitting behavioral therapy plus medical treatment with slow release bupropion). Patients’ abstinence was followed at six time point during six months. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.22 using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model. RESULTS: Abstinance rate at the end of six months were 71.7 % for combined intervention group, 33.9 % for brief advice group and 9.8 % for the control group (p < 0.001). Combined intervention group and brief advice group respectively had 35 times (p < 0.001, OR = 35.26, 95 % CI = 13.77–90.32) and 7 times (p < 0.001, OR = 7.14, 95 % CI = 2.72–18.72) more odds of not being an active smoker at each time point, compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Considering the prevalence and importance of TB and the substantial influence of these preventive measures on controlling tobacco use, application of such programs is recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The survey was registered in the Iranian registry of clinical trials website (irct.ir) in August 31, 2013 with IRCT ID: IRCT2013062613783N1.