Conditions: Smoking Cessation HIV
Keywords: smoking administration, cutaneous
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 560
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of intensive anti-smoking counseling plus nicotine replacement therapy versus intensive anti-smoking counseling alone among HIV-infected patients in South Africa, and to concurrently measure the prevalence of smoking among HIV-infected patients in South Africa.

Detailed description:
Tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for over 5 million deaths globally every year and HIV/AIDS kills 2 million worldwide, with persons living in the developing world especially at risk. However, the association between tobacco use and HIV is not clearly understood. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to longer duration of survival following HIV-infection in the developed world, and now that HAART is being rolled out in the developing world, survival will increase in these highly endemic regions as well. Given this increase in survival, more people will die of non-HIV related illnesses for which smoking plays an important causal role. Smoking cessation for HIV-infected persons has been studied in the US though these studies have had small numbers and limited follow-up. US based studies suggest that approaches that combine nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and counseling interventions are most successful. Optimal approaches in resource-limited settings have not been determined.

This study will compare intensive counseling plus NRT versus intensive counseling only, comparing smoking cessation at 2, 6 and 12 months. At 6 months, patients who are still current smokers will be given a second opportunity to receive their group assigned intervention, either intensive counseling plus NRT or intensive counseling alone. We will relate smoking exposure and cessation to HIV progression as measured by immunologic and viral markers, risk of respiratory infections, including tuberculosis, and AIDS-related malignancies. The RCT will be performed at the Tshepong HIV Wellness Clinic in Klerksdorp, South Africa, associated with the Reproductive Health \& HIV Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Arms:
arm 1: Participants in this arm will receive advice to quit smoking and self-help materials from the study interventionist in a standardized fashion (intensive anti-smoking counseling). arm 2: Participants in this arm will receive the nicotine patch in addition to the intensive anti-smoking counseling. Participants will receive instruction on proper use of the nicotine patch (i.e., placement, use of one patch a day, importance of not smoking while using the patch, and tapering of patches).

Interventions: intervention 1: Nicotine intervention 2: Intensive Counseling
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: The nicotine patch be given in three phases:

* 2 weeks of patches at enrollment
* 6 weeks of patches at two-week follow-up visit
* 2 weeks of patches at two-month follow-up visit

This schedule will cover the entire 10-week course of therapy as per label instructions: 6 weeks at 21mg; 2 weeks at 14mg; and 2 weeks at 7mg. intervention 2: The advice to quit smoking message will follow NCI's 5A's model for smoking cessation counseling. This is a simple smoking cessation counseling strategy with 5 discrete components: (1) Ask about smoking at every opportunity; (2) Advise the patient to quit smoking; (3) Assess readiness to quit; (4) Assist the patient in quitting; and (5) Arrange follow-up.

Visit schedule:

* Baseline
* 2-week follow-up (Quit Day)
* 1-month follow-up
* 2-month follow-up
* 3-month follow-up
* 6-month follow-up

Participants abstinent at 6-month follow-up will be next seen at 12-month follow-up.

Participants still smoking at 6-month follow-up will be offered group-assigned intervention again.

Protocol document: