Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38291451›Full record

ArticleJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2024

Perceptions in orthopedic surgery on the use of cannabis in treating pain: a survey of patients with spine pain (POSIT Spine).

Marko Gjorgjievski, Kim Madden, Conner Bullen, Frank Koziarz, Alex Koziarz, Aleksa Cenic, Silvia Li, Mohit Bhandari, Herman Johal

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 37% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Elusive Truth of Cannabinoids for Rheumatic Pain.Current rheumatology reports · 2024
    Review
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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Marko GjorgjievskiDivision of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Victory 3, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, 76 Stuart Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 2V7, Canada. markogjorgjievski@gmail.com.
Kim MaddenDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Conner BullenFaculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Frank KoziarzDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Alex KoziarzDepartment of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Aleksa CenicDepartment of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Silvia LiDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Mohit BhandariDivision of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Herman JohalDivision of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
McMaster University · CAImpact · CAQueen's University · CAUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBack pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite guidelines discouraging opioids as first-line treatment, opioids remain the most prescribed drugs for back pain. There is renewed interest in exploring the potential medical applications of cannabis, and with the recent changes in national legislation there is a unique opportunity to investigate the analgesic properties of cannabis.

methodsThis was a multi-center survey-based study examining patient perceptions regarding cannabis for spine pain. We included patients presenting with back or neck pain to one of three Orthopedic clinics in Ontario. Our primary outcome was perceived effect of cannabis on back pain, while secondary outcomes were perceptions regarding potential applications and barriers to cannabis use.

results259 patients participated in this study, 35.3% (90/255) stating they used cannabis medically. Average pain severity was 6.5/10 ± 0.3 (95% CI 6.2-6.8). Nearly three-quarters were prescribed opioids (73.6%, 148/201), with oxycodone/oxycontin (45.9% 68/148) being the most common, and almost half of (49.3%, 73/148) had used an opioid in the last week. Patients estimated cannabis could treat 54.3% ± 4.0 (95% CI 50.3-58.3%) of their spine pain and replace 46.2% ± 6. 6 (95% CI 39.6-52.8%) of their current analgesics. Age (β = - 0.3, CI - 0.6-0.0), higher pain severity (β = 0.4, CI 0.1-0.6) and previous cannabis use (β = 14.7, CI 5.1-24.4) were associated with a higher perceived effect of cannabis. Patients thought cannabis would be beneficial to treat pain (129/146, 88.4%), and reduce (116/146, 79.5%) or eliminate opioids (102/146, 69.9%). Not considering using cannabis for medical purposes (65/150, 43.3%) was the number one reported barrier.

conclusionsPatients estimated medical cannabis could treat more than half of their spine pain, with one in three patients already using medical cannabis. 79% of patients also believe cannabis could reduce opioid usage. This data will help support more research into cannabis for musculoskeletal pain.

Indexed as

CannabisMedical MarijuanaMusculoskeletal PainOrthopedic ProceduresAnalgesicsAnalgesics, OpioidBack PainHumansOxycodoneAnalgesicsAnalgesics, OpioidMedical MarijuanaOxycodoneBack painCannabisMSK painOpioid alternativeOpioid epidemicOpioidsOrthopedicsPatient perceptionsSpine painSurvey

Identifiers

PMID38291451
PMCPMC10825977
OpenAlexW4391353267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.