Cannabis use patterns in drug-resistant and pharmacoresponsive epilepsy: Single tertiary referral center survey investigation
Danielle McDermott 1, Marielle L Darwin 2, Kirsten Fetrow 1, Ian Coulter 3, Kristal Biesecker 1, John A Thompson 1 2
- 1Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States of America.
- 2Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States of America.
- 3School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States of America.
Affiliationer
This study sought to identify differences in cannabis use and perceptions about cannabis in mitigating seizure-related symptoms in patients with epilepsy, and to evaluate differences in these patterns between drug-resistant versus pharmacoresponsive epilepsy. A collection of self-report surveys completed by patients with epilepsy (n = 76) were used to retrospectively compare differences in those with drug-resistant versus pharmacoresponsive epilepsy regarding 1) proportion who used cannabis, 2) frequency of use, 3) method of use, and 4) reason for use. A Cochran-Armitage test for trend indicated that of patients who used cannabis, a higher proportion of patients in the drug-resistant group used more frequently than in the pharmacoresponsive group. Almost half (48%) of those in the drug-resistant group reported daily use compared to approximately a third (36%) of those in the pharmacoresponsive group. Additionally, no patient in either group reported that cannabis was harmful in relation to seizure-related symptoms. Results from this study highlight the need for epilepsy providers to formally assess patients’ perceptions and use of non-prescribed cannabis to inform clinical care decisions, particularly in the drug-resistant epilepsy population.