title: Abdominal Organ Transplant Center Tobacco Use Policies Vary by Organ Program Type.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and surgical complications. Transplant center practices toward smokers vary widely and evoke the classic tension between the ethical principles of justice and utility. We sought to assess current smoking policy variation in U.S. kidney, liver, and pancreas transplant centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was sent to program directors of all United Network for Organ Sharing-approved solid abdominal organ transplant programs regarding their policies toward prior and current tobacco use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses were received from 26% of kidney, 31% of liver, and 37% of pancreas transplant centers. Across organ programs, virtually all centers (97% to 100%) reported transplantations for former smokers, whereas 59% of kidney, 62% of liver, and 33% of pancreas programs reported transplantations for current smokers. Organ programs reported similar rates of having smoking cessation programs (74% to 77%) and performing serum cotinine testing (31% to 38%). Smoking was an absolute contraindication to transplantation at 38% of kidney, 15% of liver, and 50% of pancreas programs. Programs with absolute contraindication policies were less likely to perform transplantations in current smokers and more likely to check serum cotinine levels, but no more likely to have smoking cessation programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is variation in tobacco use policies among abdominal organ transplant programs and centers. Balancing equity and justice when deciding which patients to waitlist requires an individualized approach to the tobacco-using patient, consideration of organ-specific factors, tobacco-related disease burden, and overall patient health. Such multifaceted assessments might be favorable to inflexible tobacco use policies.
authors: Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: D R
authors: DR
authors: Cote
authors: Department of Transplant Surgery, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors: T J
authors: TJ
authors: Chirichella
authors: Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: K A
authors: KA
authors: Noon
authors: Department of Community Pediatrics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Division of General Medical Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Shafran
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Augustine
authors: Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Schulak
authors: Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors: E Q
authors: EQ
authors: Sanchez
authors: Section of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Electronic address: woodside@umich.edu.
authors: K J
authors: KJ
authors: Woodside
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder; D014850:Waiting Lists