Medical Cannabis Alleviates Chronic Neuropathic Pain Effectively and Sustainably without Severe Adverse Effect: A Retrospective Study on 99 Cases

TY - JOUR

T1 - Medical Cannabis Alleviates Chronic Neuropathic Pain Effectively and Sustainably without Severe Adverse Effect: A Retrospective Study on 99 Cases

AU - Kluwe, Lan

AU - Scholze, Christian

AU - Schmidberg, Lisa Marie

AU - Wichmann, Julian Lukas

AU - Gemkov, Mihail

AU - Keller, Martin Julian

AU - Farschtschi, Said C

N1 - © 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - INTRODUCTION: Medical cannabis may provide a treatment option for chronic neuropathic pain. However, empirical disease-specific data are scarce.METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study including 99 patients with chronic neuropathic pain. These patients received medical cannabis by means of inhaling dried flowers with tetrahydrocannabinol content of <12-22% at a maximal daily dose of 0.15-1 g. Up to six follow-ups were carried out at intervals of 4-6 weeks. Pain severity, sleep disturbance, general improvement, side effects, and therapy tolerance at the follow-up consultations were assessed in interviews and compared with the baseline data using non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test.RESULTS: Within 6 weeks on the therapy, median of the pain scores decreased significantly from 7.5 to 4.0 (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients with severe pain (score >6) decreased from 96% to 16% (p < 0.001). Sleep disturbance was significantly improved with the median of the scores decreased from 8.0 to 2.0 (p < 0.001). These improvements were sustained over a period of up to 6 months. There were no severe adverse events reported. Mild side effects reported were dryness in mucous tissue (5.4%), fatigue (4.8%), and increased appetite (2.7%). Therapy tolerance was reported in 91% of the interviews.CONCLUSION: Medical cannabis is safe and highly effective for treating neuropathic pain and concomitant sleep disturbance.

AB - INTRODUCTION: Medical cannabis may provide a treatment option for chronic neuropathic pain. However, empirical disease-specific data are scarce.METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study including 99 patients with chronic neuropathic pain. These patients received medical cannabis by means of inhaling dried flowers with tetrahydrocannabinol content of <12-22% at a maximal daily dose of 0.15-1 g. Up to six follow-ups were carried out at intervals of 4-6 weeks. Pain severity, sleep disturbance, general improvement, side effects, and therapy tolerance at the follow-up consultations were assessed in interviews and compared with the baseline data using non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test.RESULTS: Within 6 weeks on the therapy, median of the pain scores decreased significantly from 7.5 to 4.0 (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients with severe pain (score >6) decreased from 96% to 16% (p < 0.001). Sleep disturbance was significantly improved with the median of the scores decreased from 8.0 to 2.0 (p < 0.001). These improvements were sustained over a period of up to 6 months. There were no severe adverse events reported. Mild side effects reported were dryness in mucous tissue (5.4%), fatigue (4.8%), and increased appetite (2.7%). Therapy tolerance was reported in 91% of the interviews.CONCLUSION: Medical cannabis is safe and highly effective for treating neuropathic pain and concomitant sleep disturbance.

U2 - 10.1159/000531667

DO - 10.1159/000531667

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 37900896

VL - 6

SP - 89

EP - 96

IS - 1

ER -