Cannabis Use among Patients in a Rural Academic Palliative Care Clinic.

Background: Therapeutic cannabis is being more widely used by patients to manage multiple symptoms, but the patterns of use in the palliative care population are not well defined.

Objective: The primary aim of this pilot study was to describe the use of cannabis among patients attending a palliative care clinic (PCC).

Design: The study was a retrospective chart review of patients seen at four different interval points during 2017 and 2018 in an ambulatory palliative care setting.

Setting/Subjects: The study was conducted at a 396-bed rural academic medical center in the PCC, where the majority of patients have oncological diseases.

Results: Clinicians saw 299 unique patients during the four one-month time periods reviewed. Eighty-three patients (27%) reported use of any form of cannabis. The most common reasons for cannabis use were pain (n = 49, 59%), anorexia (n = 16, 19%), insomnia (n = 14, 17%), nausea (n = 13, 16%), anxiety (n = 8, 10%), and depression (n = 5, 6%). Twenty-six patients (31%) used cannabis for more than one symptom. Among the 83 patients using cannabis, 60 (72%) were also prescribed opioids with 32% on immediate-release only and 25% on both immediate- and extended-release opioids. These 60 patients on opioids and cannabisrepresent 33% of all patients prescribed opioids in this clinic. Tetrahydrocannabinol was present in 25% of the 73 urine drug screens.

Conclusions: Our data show a significant minority of patients in a PCC use cannabis. Further research should focus on more detailed information about formulation use, methods of ingestion, perceived efficacy, side effects, cost, and standardization of clinical practices. Given the prevalence of cannabis use, further research into its efficacy, side effects, and safety is needed, including whether patients with prior/active substance use receive more or less benefit or harm from cannabis use.