Howard Meng1, John G Hanlon1,2, Rita Katznelson1,3,4, Anand Ghanekar5, Ian McGilvray5, Hance Clarke6,7,8. 1. Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. 2. Department of Anesthesia, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada. 3. Pain Research Unit, Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, Eaton North 3 EB 317, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada. 4. Transtional Pain Service, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada. 5. Division of General Surgery, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada. 6. Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. hance.clarke@utoronto.ca. 7. Pain Research Unit, Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, Eaton North 3 EB 317, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada. hance.clarke@utoronto.ca. 8. Transtional Pain Service, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada. hance.clarke@utoronto.ca.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this case report is to describe a patient with a preoperative complex pain syndrome who underwent liver transplantation and was able to reduce his opioid consumption significantly following the initiation of treatment with medical cannabis. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 57-yr-old male with a history of hepatitis C cirrhosis underwent liver transplantation. Preoperatively, he was taking hydromorphone 2-8 mg⋅day(-1) for chronic abdominal pain. Postoperatively, he was given intravenous patient-controlled analgesia through which he received hydromorphone 30 mg⋅day(-1). Our multidisciplinary Transitional Pain Service was involved with managing his moderate to severe acute postsurgical pain in hospital and continued with weaning him from opioid medications after discharge. It was difficult to wean the patient from opioids, and he was subsequently given medical cannabis at six weeks postoperatively with remarkable effect. By the fifth postoperative month, his use of opioids had tapered to 6 mg⋅day(-1) of hydromorphone, and his functional status was excellent on this regimen. CONCLUSION: Reductions in opioid consumption were achieved with the administration of medical cannabis in a patient with acute postoperative pain superimposed on a chronic pain syndrome and receiving high doses of opioids. Concurrent benefits of initiating medical cannabis may include improvements in pain profile and functional status along with reductions in opioid-related side effects. This highlights the potential for medical cannabis as an adjunct medication for weaning patients from opioid use.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this case report is to describe a patient with a preoperative complex pain syndrome who underwent liver transplantation and was able to reduce his opioid consumption significantly following the initiation of treatment with medical cannabis. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 57-yr-old male with a history of hepatitis C cirrhosis underwent liver transplantation. Preoperatively, he was taking hydromorphone 2-8 mg⋅day(-1) for chronic abdominal pain. Postoperatively, he was given intravenous patient-controlled analgesia through which he received hydromorphone 30 mg⋅day(-1). Our multidisciplinary Transitional Pain Service was involved with managing his moderate to severe acute postsurgical pain in hospital and continued with weaning him from opioid medications after discharge. It was difficult to wean the patient from opioids, and he was subsequently given medical cannabis at six weeks postoperatively with remarkable effect. By the fifth postoperative month, his use of opioids had tapered to 6 mg⋅day(-1) of hydromorphone, and his functional status was excellent on this regimen. CONCLUSION: Reductions in opioid consumption were achieved with the administration of medical cannabis in a patient with acute postoperative pain superimposed on a chronic pain syndrome and receiving high doses of opioids. Concurrent benefits of initiating medical cannabis may include improvements in pain profile and functional status along with reductions in opioid-related side effects. This highlights the potential for medical cannabis as an adjunct medication for weaning patients from opioid use.
Authors: Karim S Ladha; Varuna Manoo; Ali-Faizan Virji; John G Hanlon; Alexander Mclaren-Blades; Akash Goel; Duminda N Wijeysundera; Lakshmi P Kotra; Carlos Ibarra; Marina Englesakis; Hance Clarke Journal: Cannabis Cannabinoid Res Date: 2019-12-06