Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35518836›Full record

ArticleKidney medicine2022

Therapeutic Cannabis Use in Kidney Disease: A Survey of Canadian Nephrologists.

Kevin Gitau, Holly S Howe, Lydia Ginsberg, Jeffrey Perl, Jonathan Ailon

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Kidney medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Pharmacokinetics and Side Effects of ΔKidney international reports · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Kevin GitauDivision of General Internal Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Holly S HoweDepartment of Marketing, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Lydia GinsbergDivision of Internal Medicine, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Sudbury, Canada.
Jeffrey PerlDivision of Nephrology, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Jonathan AilonDivision of General Internal Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
St. Michael's Hospital · CADuke University · USNOSM University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rationale & Objective: Cannabis use may be helpful for symptom management in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Knowledge, attitudes, and comfort with use of medical cannabis among kidney care providers may be limiting more widespread evaluation and use. We surveyed Canadian nephrologists regarding current prescribing habits, attitudes, and overall comfort level with cannabis products. Study Design: We carried out a nationwide, mail-in survey focused on capturing general and practice demographics, current cannabis prescribing status, and knowledge and attitudes regarding therapeutic cannabis use in patients with CKD. Setting & Population: This survey was distributed to every registered nephrologist in Canada. Analytical Approach: The results of this survey are reported descriptively. Results: Responses were received from 208 of 723 (29%) nephrologists. Only 21 (10.1%) respondents currently prescribe cannabis, with chronic pain syndromes being the most frequent reason for cannabis prescription (95.2%). Overall, 116 (55.5%) participants reported that changes in legality of cannabis did not influence their decision to prescribe cannabis. The majority of respondents (n = 123; 59%) indicated that they were uncomfortable with their knowledge of the medical cannabis literature. Most respondents (n=188; 91%) indicated that further studies exploring the efficacy and safety of cannabis would likely influence their prescribing habits. Limitations: Limitations of this study include possible nonresponse bias and a lack of specific data on practice considerations for specific subpopulations, such as transplant patients. Conclusions: Only a small minority of Canadian nephrologists currently prescribe cannabis, with relatively little practice change after legalization. There is broad support amongst Canadian nephrologists for encouraging their patients to enroll in efficacy/safety studies of cannabis in the CKD population. Ultimately, given limited therapeutic options available for symptom control in CKD, this survey demonstrates the potential for nationwide practice change if cannabis efficacy and safety can be demonstrated in this population.

Indexed as

Cannabischronic kidney diseasechronic painend-stage kidney diseasenephrologistssurveysymptoms management

Identifiers

PMID35518836
PMCPMC9065896
OpenAlexW4221137335

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.