Cannabis Users At Higher Risk Of Amputation & Opioid Use After This Surgery, New Study Reveals

The therapeutic effects of cannabis are indisputable, and a number of scientific studies confirming that is on the rise. However, a growing body of researchers is investigating the negative impacts marijuana has on overall human health.

Building on the previous study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2020 (sic) annual meeting suggested that cannabis users require more anesthesia during surgery than non-users and as a result end up using higher amounts of opioids during recovery, a new study has looked into marijuana’s impact on outcomes for common bypass surgery.

Based on the analysis of 11,000 cases from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium, known as BMC2, Michigan Medicine’s researchers discovered that cannabis users are at greater risk of amputation one year after lower extremity bypass surgery. The findings are published in the Annals of Vascular Surgery.

Peter Henke, M.D., FACS, FAHA, director of the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center and director of BMC2 Vascular Surgery, and the study’s senior author said that mechanisms related to marijuana and microcirculation in patients need to be further investigated, to get a clearer picture.

“While its exact mechanisms are unclear, cannabis and its active compounds play a role in platelet function and microcirculation that may lead to decreased rates of limb salvage after lower extremity bypass,” Henke said. “The findings show a need for screening for cannabis use and open conversations between patients and clinicians to help inform preoperative risk assessment and decision-making for lower extremity bypass.”

Cannabis Users & Opioid Use: New (Surprising) Evidence

Meanwhile, the researchers also revealed that marijuana users were more prone to use opioids after discharge.

Commenting on the startling new evidence that contradicts a myriad of studies that highlighted the benefits of cannabis in pain management, Drew Braet, M.D., first author and integrated vascular surgery resident at U-M Health, said that more research is needed.

“Given the increase in cannabis use and abuse in conjunction with the opioid epidemic, the results suggest a need for a better understanding of pain management for cannabis users who are having vascular surgery,” Braet said.

Photo: Courtesy of JAFAR AHMED on Unsplash