Computerized assessment of surgical patients for tobacco use: Accuracy and acceptability

Abstract

Background Despite increased risks of postoperative complications among patients who use tobacco, a number of barriers hinder the systematic identification of surgical patients who smoke. The study investigated the accuracy and acceptability of a patient-completed touchscreen computer program, which assessed patient smoking status during attendance at a surgical pre-operative clinic.MethodsOne thousand and four patients participated in the study and completed a touchscreen computer smoking assessment program.ResultsThe sensitivity and specificity measures of the computerized assessment were 93 and 95 respectively. Patients, and clinic receptionists, nurses and anaesthetists found the touchscreen computer-based assessment acceptable.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that computerized assessment of smoking status is an accurate and acceptable way to identify tobacco users in a pre-operative clinic setting. © The Author 2007, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved.