Canna~Fangled Abstracts

The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series

By November 21, 2021November 22nd, 2021No Comments

. 2021 Nov 21;47(1):229.

doi: 10.1186/s13052-021-01179-1.

Antuan Divisic 1, Irene Avagnina 2, Valentina De Tommasi 2, Anna Santini 2, Laura Brogelli 3, Luca Giacomelli 3, Franca Benini 2
Affiliations 

Abstract

Background: Medical cannabis may be a useful tool for managing treatment-resistant epilepsy and chronic pain, which affect many patients in pediatric palliative care (PPC); however, little evidence is available in this setting.

Case presentation: We aimed to describe a clinical experience in a setting where high-level evidence may not be obtained. We report our clinical experience in a pediatric palliative care department in Italy. Caregivers reported changes in intensity and frequency of pain and epilepsy events. Six patients received a titrated plant extract of cannabis sativa for 1 year. Only mild and transient adverse events occurred: drowsiness, euphoria, restlessness and tachycardia; the resolution was either spontaneous or obtained by modifying the administration schedule. Treatment was never discontinued. No overdoses occurred. All patients experienced seizures during the pre-treatment observation period, and obtained a reduction in seizure frequency, although with variable extent while receiving cannabis. In addition, a benefit on pain was observed, based on the caregiver’s evaluation, and a reduction of analgesic use.

Conclusion: Our experience suggests that a titrated plant extract preparation of medical cannabis may be useful to control treatment-resistant pain and epilepsy in PPC patients.

 

Keywords: Cannabidiol, D9-tetrahydrocannabinol, Pediatric palliative care, cannabis

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