Smoking among hospitalized patients in a general hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of smoking among hospitalized patients in a general hospital, and to evaluate their profile.


METHODS
A random representative sample of 111 patients, classified as nonsmokers, former smokers or smokers, was evaluated. The smokers were submitted to the Fagerström test and measurement of expired carbon monoxide. Expired carbon monoxide higher than 6 ppm was considered a significant indicator of recent smoking.


RESULTS
Of the 111 patients in the sample, 60 (54%) were female. The mean age was 70 years. Of the 111 patients, 56 (51%) had never smoked, 36 (32%) were former smokers, and 19 (17%) were smokers. All of the smokers were male. The smokers were younger (58 +/- 17 years) than the nonsmokers (68 +/- 14 years) and the former smokers (73 +/- 14 years)--ANOVA: F = 6.57 (p = 0.002). Among the smokers, the mean tobacco intake was 43 pack-years and the mean Fagerström score was 5.0. Of the 19 smokers, 11 (58%) had respiratory symptoms and 3 had withdrawal symptoms. The mean expired carbon monoxide in the smokers was 5.0 ppm. Expired carbon monoxide levels were higher than 6 ppm in 8 (42%) of the smokers. There was a higher prevalence of smokers in some wards: 70% of all smokers were hospitalized on only five wards.


CONCLUSIONS
In a large tertiary hospital, 17% of the hospitalized patients were smokers, and 7% had smoked within the last 8 hours. The smokers were younger men, hospitalized on specific wards.
Oliveira
Maria Vera Cruz de
MV
Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. maria_vera@uol.com.br
Oliveira
Tatiana Riera de
TR
Pereira
Carlos Alberto de Castro
CA
Bonfim
Alexandre Vidal
AV
Leitão Filho
Fernando Studart
FS
Voss
Larissa Rego
LR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006783:Hospitals, State; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D055815:Young Adult
D002248:Carbon Monoxide