SynthesisSchmerz (Berlin, Germany)2016
[Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of cannabinoids in gastroenterology: A systematic review].
Synthesis in Schmerz (Berlin, Germany), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endocannabinoid System as a Promising Therapeutic Target in Inflammatory Bowel Disease - A Systematic Review.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Pooled it
- Cannabis for the treatment of Crohn's disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Cannabinoids in Pain Management and Palliative Medicine.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017Pooled it
- Impact of a brief distress intolerance intervention on acute stress modulation of response inhibition neurophysiology in cannabis use disorder.Addictive behaviors · 2023Trial
- CB2R promotes T cell gut homing and exacerbates ileitis in a murine Crohn's model.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2026Article
- Medical cannabis for the management of pain in chronic pancreatitis with recurrent exacerbations: a case report.Journal of cannabis research · 2025Article
- Hemp Seeds of the Polish 'Bialobrzeskie' and 'Henola' Varieties (Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Emerging Comorbidities in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Eating Disorders, Alcohol and Narcotics Misuse.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Article
- Therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids: an evidence mapping and appraisal of systematic reviews.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Review
- [Cannabis-based medicines for chronic pain: indications, selection of drugs, effectiveness and safety : Experiences of pain physicians in Saarland].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2019Review
- [Cannabis-based drugs : Don't pit clinical experience and systematic reviews against each other].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2019Article
- Therapeutic Use of Cannabis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2016Article
- [Cannabis as a therapeutic agent: Focal topic].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2016Article
- Medical use of cannabis products: Lessons to be learned from Israel and Canada.Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe medical use of cannabis is discussed in gastroenterology for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and chronic pancreatitis. MATERIALS AND
methodsA systematic literature search until March 2015 was performed in the databases Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, www.cannabis-med.org , and clinicaltrials.gov. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating herbal cannabis and/or pharmaceutical cannabinoids in IBD, IBS, or chronic pancreatitis with a study duration of ≥ 4 weeks and a sample size of at least n = 10 per study arm were identified. Clinical outcomes comprised efficacy (pain, nausea, appetite/weight, diarrhea, health-related quality of life, and remission rates for IBD), tolerability (drop-out rate due to side effects), and safety (severe side effects). Methodology quality of RCTs was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.
resultsOnly one RCT treating 21 patients with Crohn's disease and herbal cannabis was identified. The study revealed no significant differences of remission rate because of low statistical power. However, there was a clear tendency for less abdominal pain and improved appetite with medical cannabis. The methodological risk of the study was high. Furthermore, results of two RCTs investigating synthetic cannabis in IBD and chronic pancreatitis, respectively, have not yet been released. No RCT for IBS was found. Several case reports described cannabis-induced acute pancreatitis.
conclusionsCannabis may be useful for symptom relief in Crohn's disease such as pain, nausea, and loss of appetite. However, studies with high methodological quality, sufficient sample size, and study duration are mandatory to determine potential therapeutic effects and risks of cannabis in gastroenterology. Currently, use of tetrahydrocannabinol to alleviate symptoms such as pain and appetite loss in Crohn's disease should only be considered in individual patients after failure of established medical therapies and only after careful risk-benefit assessment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.