Smoking%20cessation Patient Education

Patient Education

Lifestyle Modification

Reasons Patient May be Unwilling to Quit

Lack of information regarding the benefits of quitting and the harmful effects of tobacco (ie cancer, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic pulmonary diseases)
Previous failed attempts may have demoralized patient
- Severe withdrawal symptoms during previous quit attempts
Presence of other tobacco users in home or workplace
Lack of required resources
Fear/concerns regarding quitting (eg fear of weight loss, fear of losing benefits or function of smoking such as overcoming feelings of boredom, stress, anxiety)

Motivational Intervention

An approach that enhances patients’ motivation to quit smoking
Composed of 5 components:
- Relevance - Patient to indicate why quitting is personally relevant
- Risks - Ask patient to identify potential negative consequences of smoking
- Rewards - Patient should realize and understand the potential benefits of quitting
- Roadblocks - Ask patient to identify barriers to quitting and note actions to address the barriers
- Repetition - Patient’s current motivation to quit should be asked every patient visit
Motivational intervention will be more successful if the clinician is empathetic, promotes patient autonomy, supports the patient’s self-efficacy and avoids arguments
Patients who have failed in previous attempts to quit should be informed that most people make repeated failed attempts before they have succeeded

Long COVID: What we have learned so far

Prof. Ghassan Dbaibo, 27 Apr 2023

The WHO defines long COVID as a condition that occurs 3 months from COVID-19 onset, whose symptoms last ≥2 months and cannot be attributed to an alternative diagnosis. In an interview with MIMS Doctor, Professor Ghassan Dbaibo of the Center for Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, describes the evolving attitudes towards long COVID among healthcare professionals (HCPs), some unexpected predisposing factors, potential biological mechanisms behind prolonged symptom duration and shares data on vaccination’s protective effects against long COVID.

Antigen rapid test vs RT-PCR for COVID-19: What you need to know

Pearl Toh, 29 Jul 2021

While RT-PCR is the current gold standard to confirm a SARS-CoV-2 infection, antigen rapid test (ART) for COVID-19 allows for quick detection of SARS-CoV-2 and thus fast triaging of infected patients requiring isolation at the population level, according to studies presented at ECCMID 2021.

Tackling multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections in critically ill patients: Challenging the standard approach

Dr. Asok Kurup, Dr. Kenneth Chan, 07 Dec 2020

The rising incidence of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria has become a serious health threat and a major challenge for intensivists. Against a backdrop of high patient mortality and risk factors for infection in intensive care units (ICU), early adequate therapy is of paramount importance. At a recent Pfizer-sponsored symposium, Dr Asok Kurup, Infectious Disease Physician, Singapore presented the implications of MDR gram-negative infections in critically ill patients in Asia, while Dr Kenneth Chan, Respiratory Physician and Intensivist, Singapore highlighted the role of ceftazidime-avibactam (Zavicefta) and shared published real-world data on ceftazidime-avibactam.