Abstract
Background
Many states have legalized medical cannabis with various reported therapeutic benefits.
However, there is little data assessing the effects of cannabis on surgical outcomes.
We sought to compare post-operative pancreatic resection complications between cannabis
users and non-users.
Methods
This is a single-center, retrospective review of patients who underwent Whipple or
distal pancreatectomy from 1/2017-12/2020. The primary outcome was any in-hospital
complication, using Clavien-Dindo. Multivariable regression analysis was performed.
Results
There were 486 patients who underwent Whipple (n=346, 71.2%) or distal pancreatectomy
(n=140, 28.8%). Overall, 21.4% (n=104) reported cannabis use, of whom 80.8% were current
users. Cannabis users were younger (60 vs. 66 years, p < 0.001), and more likely to
have smoked tobacco (p=0.04), but otherwise had similar demographics as non-users.
There were 288 (59.3%) patients who developed an in-hospital complication (grade 1–2,
75.3%; grade 3–5, 24.7%). A trend towards increased complications was observed with
tobacco smoking (OR 1.33, 95% CI 0.91–1.94, p=0.14), but no association of cannabis
use with complications was observed (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.58–1.47, p=0.74).
Discussion
A significant proportion of patients undergoing pancreatic resection report cannabis
use. These results suggest that there was no association between cannabis use and
post-operative complications, future prospective evaluation is warranted.
Graphical abstract
Graphical Abstract
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 19, 2023
Accepted:
January 16,
2023
Received:
February 10,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Meeting Information: Abstract presented as an On-Demand virtual presentation at the AHPBA Annual Meeting, August 2021, Miami, FL.
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
