Clinical trial NCT00959972: Varenicline Versus Transdermal Nicotine Patch for Smoking Cessation in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease
Official title: Varenicline Versus Transdermal Nicotine Patch for Smoking Cessation in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease: a Pilot Randomized Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Coronary Heart Disease
Keywords: Varenicline
transdermal nicotine patch
cardiovascular disease
prevention
coronary heart disease
Smoking cessation
Lead sponsor: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario
First posted: 2009-08-17
Enrollment: 50
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 75
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine if a new drug, varenicline, for smoking cessation is more effective than the standard nicotine replacement therapy aide currently used, "the patch" among smokers hospitalized with coronary heart disease.

Detailed description: Quitting smoking is the single most effective intervention or treatment to reduce death rates in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who smoke. At the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (Ottawa, Canada), an institutional program is in place to ensure that staff consistently identify and document tobacco use status and treatment is offered to every smoker admitted to the Institute. Currently, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is the principal medication used in the program. Recently, a new medication, varenicline, was approved for smoking cessation in Canada. Varenicline appears be the most effective medication for cessation currently available. To date, most published studies of varenicline have been funded by the manufacturer and there are no published studies reporting how well it works in smokers hospitalized with heart disease.

This study involves sixty current smokers hospitalized at the UOHI for CHD. Consenting smokers will be randomly assigned to receive varenicline for 12 weeks or transdermal NRT for 12 weeks. Participants will also complete a two-page questionnaire inquiring about smoking history and previous attempts to quit, level of nicotine dependence, symptoms of nicotine withdrawal and self-efficacy with respect to quitting smoking. All participants will receive identical in-hospital counseling, self-help materials and follow-up support. The nurse specialists will also contact the participants by phone 3, 14, 30 and 50 days post-hospital discharge to check the patient's smoking status, assess the risk of relapse, and identify any adverse events that have occurred. The study will follow up with participants at 12 and 26 weeks post randomization asking about their smoking status (biochemically confirmed with a carbon monoxide monitor), adherence to prescribed medication, self-efficacy with respect to quitting smoking, nicotine withdrawal and smoking cessation resources used post-discharge.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* smoking at least 10 cigarettes/day in the month prior to admission
* patient has been diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (includes patients admitted for unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction), elective percutaneous coronary intervention, or coronary artery bypass surgery at any point in time
* motivated to stop smoking
* geographically available for follow-up visits (i.e., live within 1 hour of the study centre)

Exclusion Criteria:

* have been using NRT, Zyban (or Wellbutrin), and/or Champix for more than 72 hours
* have serious cardiac arrhythmias (e.g., tachycardia), vasospastic disease (e.g., Buerger's disease, Prinzmetal's variant angina)
* have severe renal impairment or are on dialysis
* unable to read and understand English
* patient is pregnant or breastfeeding or planning on becoming pregnant during the study period

Primary outcomes:
measure: The primary outcome will be the biochemically confirmed (exhaled CO < 10 ppm) self-reported continuous abstinence for weeks 12 to 26.
timeFrame: 26 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Secondary outcomes will include adherence to prescribed pharmacotherapy measured at 12 weeks and measures of nicotine withdrawal and self-efficacy.
timeFrame: 26 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ottawa
country: Canada
facility: University of Ottawa Heart Institute
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
name: Robert Reid, PhD MBA
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
name: Andrew Pipe, MD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Pipe A. Smoking. Can J Cardiol. 1999 Dec;15 Suppl G:77G-80G. No abstract available.
citation: Critchley J, Capewell S. Smoking cessation for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;(4):CD003041. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003041.
citation: Rigotti NA, Munafo MR, Stead LF. Interventions for smoking cessation in hospitalised patients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD001837. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001837.pub2.
citation: Reid RD, Pipe AL, Quinlan B. Promoting smoking cessation during hospitalization for coronary artery disease. Can J Cardiol. 2006 Jul;22(9):775-80. doi: 10.1016/s0828-282x(06)70294-x.
citation: Meine TJ, Patel MR, Washam JB, Pappas PA, Jollis JG. Safety and effectiveness of transdermal nicotine patch in smokers admitted with acute coronary syndromes. Am J Cardiol. 2005 Apr 15;95(8):976-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.12.039.
citation: Gonzales D, Rennard SI, Nides M, Oncken C, Azoulay S, Billing CB, Watsky EJ, Gong J, Williams KE, Reeves KR; Varenicline Phase 3 Study Group. Varenicline, an alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, vs sustained-release bupropion and placebo for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006 Jul 5;296(1):47-55. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.1.47.
citation: Aubin HJ, Bobak A, Britton JR, Oncken C, Billing CB Jr, Gong J, Williams KE, Reeves KR. Varenicline versus transdermal nicotine patch for smoking cessation: results from a randomised open-label trial. Thorax. 2008 Aug;63(8):717-24. doi: 10.1136/thx.2007.090647. Epub 2008 Feb 8.