Scientists from Colorado found that patients who regularly use cannabis may require more than two times the usual level of sedation when undergoing medical procedures.
The research is published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association and was conducted by Mark Twardowski et al.
In the study, the team examined the medical records of 250 patients who received endoscopic procedures after 2012, when the state legalized recreational cannabis.
They found patients who smoked or ingested cannabis on a daily or weekly basis required 14% more fentanyl, 20% more midazolam, and 220% more propofol to achieve optimum sedation for routine procedures, including colonoscopy.
The team says some of the sedative medications have dose-dependent side effects, meaning the higher the dose, the greater likelihood for problems.
That becomes particularly dangerous when suppressed respiratory function is a known side effect.
The researchers believe that cannabis has some metabolic effects they don’t understand and patients need to know that their cannabis use might make other medications less effective.
Previous research has shown that chronic nausea is a symptom that can occur from regular cannabis use.
Patients requiring much higher dosages for general anesthesia and higher rates of post-op seizures.
Adding specific questions regarding cannabis use to patient intake forms is the first step to acquiring useful information that influences patient care.
If you care about cannabis, please read studies that cannabis use could cause harmful drug interactions, https://knowridge.com/2020/05/cannabis-hemp-oil-may-effectively-treat-chronic-neuropathic-pain/and findings of a new way to treat chronic pain.
For more information about cannabis, please see recent studies that high-potency cannabis may affect your memory functions, and results showing most people using cannabis for pain relief have multiple withdrawal symptoms.
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