Evidence mapPaperPMID 41310683Full record

Trial reportBMC medicine2025

Evidence-based brief cessation advice plus active referral for emergency department patients who smoke: a single-arm, real-world clinical trial.

Ho Cheung William Li, Wei Xia, Lishan Li, Hong Chen, Laurie Long Kwan Ho, Kai Yeung Cheung, Sarah Xiao, Yiu Cheung Chan, Oi Kwan Joyce Chung

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter StudyClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03818360 (Implementation of an Evidence-based Smoking Cessation Intervention Comprising Brief Advice Plus Active Referrals for Smokers Attending Emergency Departments in Hong Kong), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03818360 nacompletednot on this map

Implementation of an Evidence-based Smoking Cessation Intervention Comprising Brief Advice Plus Active Referrals for Smokers Attending Emergency Departments in Hong Kong

TypeinterventionalSponsorThe University of Hong KongRan2019 to 2023Enrolled1,603ConditionsSmoking, Smoking Cessation, Evidence-Based Nursing, Emergency Service, HospitalArmsan evidence-based smoking cessation intervention comprising brief advice plus active referrals
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ho Cheung William Li *The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. williamli@cuhk.edu.hk.
Wei Xia *School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Lishan LiSchool of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Hong ChenThe Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Laurie Long Kwan HoThe Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Kai Yeung CheungAccident and Emergency Department, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Sarah XiaoThe Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Yiu Cheung ChanAccident and Emergency Department, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Oi Kwan Joyce ChungSchool of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Funding

the Health Care and Promotion Scheme of Food and Health Bureau, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government 02180648
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmergency department (ED) visits present opportunities to promote smoking cessation, as patients seeking urgent care may be more receptive to adopting healthier behaviors. This study evaluated the efficacy of brief cessation advice plus active referral to smoking cessation services among smokers attending EDs.

methodsA single-arm, real-world, multicenter clinical trial was conducted in the EDs of four public hospitals in Hong Kong from August 2019 to November 2021. Current smokers aged ≥ 18 years, triaged as semi- or non-urgent, were enrolled. Participants received the AWARD (Ask, Warn, Advise, Refer, and Do-it-again) model-based brief counseling and were offered active referral by trained healthcare professionals (HCPs) to local cessation services. Booster calls at 1 week and 1 month reinforced referrals for those who accepted. All participants were followed up at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was biochemically validated 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) at 6 months; secondary outcomes included validated PPA at 12 months, self-reported PPA, and cigarette reduction rates. Implementation outcomes were evaluated using the RE-AIM framework. Propensity score matching (PSM) and multivariable logistic regression were applied to compare referred and unreferred groups.

resultsAmong the 1601 enrolled smokers, most were male (1443, 90%), with a mean age of 48 years; 77.6% and 72.1% completed 6-month and 12-month follow-ups, respectively. Following the brief advice intervention at baseline, 455 (28.4%) participants opted to receive a referral to smoking cessation services. Their overall biochemically validated 7-day PPA was 4.4% and 5.1% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. After PSM, the active referral group had significantly higher biochemically validated 7-day PPA at 6 months (6.1% vs. 3.2%; adjusted OR 2.35, p = .009) and 12-month follow-up (9.3% vs. 3.0%; adjusted OR 3.54, p < .001), higher self-reported 7-day PPA, and significant reduction rates at 6 and 12 months compared with the unreferred group. Implementation outcomes revealed strong institutional adoption, with 93 trained HCPs and a high reach among eligible smokers. This trial was limited by a non-randomized design.

conclusionsBrief cessation advice combined with active referral is feasible in ED settings and may yield clinically meaningful improvements in smoking abstinence.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03818360, 25 January 2019.

Indexed as

CounselingEmergency Service, HospitalReferral and ConsultationSmoking CessationAdultFemaleHong KongHumansMaleMiddle AgedActive referralBrief adviceClinical trialEmergency departmentHealth care professionalsReal-world settingsSmoking cessation

Identifiers

PMID41310683
PMCPMC12751522

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.