Original article
Research correspondence
Effects of Medical Cannabis on Use of Opioids and Hospital Visits by Patients With Painful Chronic Pancreatitis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2019.01.018Get rights and content

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Study Design and Patient Population

This retrospective cohort study included all patients at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center enrolled in active opioid contracts (as of time of analysis) for painful chronic pancreatitis. Within this cohort, all patients registered with either the New Hampshire or Vermont therapeutic cannabis programs were included. Patients were excluded from the study if they were identified to be using cannabis outside of officially sanctioned state therapeutic cannabis programs. This study was approved by

Results

A total of 53 patients were identified in the study who received chronic opioid pain medications for painful chronic pancreatitis. Thirty-four of these patients were registered with a state therapeutic cannabis program, in either New Hampshire or Vermont. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age, sex, etiology of chronic pancreatitis, surgical intervention with total pancreatectomy with islet autologous transplantation, or baseline opioid use (Supplementary Table 1

Discussion

This study investigated the efficacy of medical cannabis in treating the pain symptoms of chronic pancreatitis. In this cohort of patients with painful chronic pancreatitis on opioid therapy, patients enrolled in state therapeutic cannabis programs showed a trend toward decreased daily average opioid use, decreased hospital admissions, and decreased Emergency Department visits compared with those not enrolled.

The size of this study and large SD in study parameters makes a type II error a

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Conflicts of interest The authors disclose no conflicts.

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