Published in:
01-08-2020 | Rib Fracture | Letter to the Editor
Smoking status and outcomes in patients with rib fractures
Author:
Ceri Elisabeth Battle
Published in:
European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery
|
Issue 4/2020
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Excerpt
I read with interest the recent article by Grigorian et al. [
1], regarding the potential benefit of smoking, on short-term outcomes in patients with rib fractures. The results of their retrospective study confirm that despite sustaining more severe injuries and experiencing increased rates of pneumonia, both well-reported risk factors for increased mortality [
2], smokers with rib fractures experienced a nearly 40% decreased risk of in-hospital mortality and one less ventilator day, than non-smokers. The ‘smokers’ paradox’ is a well-reported phenomenon in cardiovascular disease and suggested mechanisms are considered multifactorial and related to changes in oxygen delivery, endothelial function, enhanced thrombolysis and inflammation [
1,
3]. Similarly, a significantly lower mortality and major complication rates in smokers with multi-trauma, compared to a comparable non-smokers multi-trauma cohort, has been reported [
4]. …