The safety, tolerability and efficacy of transdermal nicotine (Nicotinell TTS) in initially hospitalised patients.

AIM

We studied a transdermal nicotine system with minimal behavioural intervention in hospitalised patients to assess patient acceptability, safety and efficacy.

METHOD

In an open noncomparative study, 80 smoking patients (42 men and 38 women) were enrolled. They received 24-hour nicotine patches and simple support for 12 weeks and were followed for up to 26 weeks. Smoking was assessed by interview, expired air carbon monoxide and blood cotinine.

RESULTS

Side effects included itch and local erythema (4), insomnia (7), abnormal taste (3). Two subjects withdrew from the study because of side effects. At 12 weeks 17 were nonsmokers. At 26 weeks 19 of 80 were nonsmokers and a further 14 had reduced their intake significantly.

CONCLUSIONS

The nicotine skin patch proved to be safe and well tolerated. Efficacy was comparable to controlled trials of transdermal nicotine patches.