Nicotine replacement methods on a psychiatric unit.
Patients with psychiatric illness smoke more heavily than others in the community. They have more difficulty quitting and have more withdrawal symptoms than others.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the present study was to examine the utilization of nicotine replacement methods in a population of psychiatric patients.


METHODS
In a naturalistic retrospective review, we examined the records of 55 patients who were hospitalized on a smoke-free psychiatric unit. We abstracted the frequency of utilization of nicotine replacement. The rate of utilization was considered a ratio of the number of days utilized to the number of days prescribed.


RESULTS
There were 38 patients (69%) who used the transdermal patch, 26 patients (47%) used the inhaler, 4 patients (7%) used nicotine gum, and 2 patients (4%) used the nasal spray. The rate of utilization of the nicotine inhaler (63%) exceeded that of the transdermal nicotine patch (30%) (t = 4.6, p < .0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The hospitalization of smokers with mental illness in smoke-free psychiatric units often leads to further behavioral deterioration. The patients in the present study demonstrated a definite preference for the nicotine inhaler over the transdermal patch. Possible clinical and pathophysiological implications of this finding are discussed.
D'Mello
D A
DA
Department of Psychiatry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
Bandlamudi
G R
GR
Colenda
C C
CC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009538:Nicotine