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William R. Phillips, MD, MPH
Seattle, Wash

JAMA. 1991;266(14):1936.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—Occasionally in the history of health care two innovative forces come together with synergistic impact. So it appears to be with the movements toward cost containment and smoke-free hospitals. New studies repeatedly demonstrate that patients can be discharged from the hospital sooner than was previously considered prudent. Many hospitals are adopting smoke-free policies, forbidding smoking within their walls. Some provide special "smoking lounges" for use by employees and patients.

Report of a Case.

—A 26-year-old woman presented at about 5 PM with acute left lower abdominal pain. After appropriate evaluation she was promptly taken to surgery where a ruptured ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed and salpingo-oophorectomy performed. I visited her hospital room the next morning at about 10 AM to evaluate her postoperative condition. She was not in her room, nor was she on the nursing unit; indeed, she was nowhere in the hospital building. She was, instead, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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