Perioperative Management of the Pediatric Patient on Medicinal Marijuana: What Anesthesiologists Should Know

Cannabis Users Require More Anesthetic Agents for General Anesthesia in Ambulatory Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Procedures

BACKGROUND

The use of cannabis in the general population has steadily increased over recent years and there is limited literature regarding the anesthetic implications of chronic cannabis use, particularly in the setting of outpatient anesthesia.

PURPOSE

To determine whether chronic cannabis users undergoing deep sedation or general anesthesia during ambulatory procedures require more anesthetic agents than nonusers.

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, AND SAMPLE

A retrospective cohort study of subjects undergoing deep sedation or general anesthesia at the Oklahoma University Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic from January to December 2022 was performed. The inclusion criteria were duration of anesthetic procedure between 15 to 40 minutes, use of propofol, fentanyl, ketamine, and midazolam, and extraction of at least 2 teeth. The exclusion criterion was patients undergoing adjunctive procedures other than extractions during sedation.

PREDICTOR VARIABLE

Cannabis use status was grouped as users and nonusers. A user was defined as a subject who self-reported any regular use of cannabis.

OUTCOME VARIABLE

The primary outcome variable was the amount of intravenous anesthetic agents administered. Secondary outcome variables included the length of the procedure and the number of teeth extracted.

COVARIATES

Age, sex, and the senior-most resident involved in the sedation.

ANALYSES

IBM SPSS was utilized to perform descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, ANOVA, and multivariate linear regression. A level of significance of 5% (P < .05) was used for all analyses.

RESULTS

Four hundred and ninety nine subjects were identified, 189 met the inclusion criteria, and 57 reported using cannabis. The mean age of nonusers was 28.2 ± 7.8 years and that of users was 26.6 ± 6.4 years (P = .09). Females represented 71.9% of nonusers and 72.7% of users. Cannabis users received significantly more propofol (117.5 mg ± 71.3 vs 152.5 mg ± 101.8; P = .004), midazolam (4.7 mg ± 1.0 vs 5.1 mg ± 1.5; P = .01), ketamine (40.2 mg ± 15.7 vs 46.1 mg ± 16.9; P = .01), and fentanyl (75.2 μg ± 26.3 vs 88.6 μg ± 32.8; P = .002) than nonusers, despite extracting a similar number of teeth (4.5 ± 3.1 vs 4.4 ± 3.5; P = .37) in a similar amount of time (25.5 ± 7.3 vs 27.3 ± 7.8; P = .06).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE

Cannabis users required more propofol, midazolam, ketamine, and fentanyl than non-cannabis users during outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures.

Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults: History and Perioperative Considerations From the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are on the rise in children and young adults in the United States. According to reports, over 40 million people aged 12 and older had a diagnosed SUD in 2020.1 A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that overdose death in children aged 10 to 19 years old increased 109% from 2019 to 2021.2 Given the rapidly increasing prevalence of SUD, anesthesiologists will almost certainly encounter children, adolescents, and young adults with a history of recreational drug use or nonmedical use of prescription opioids in the perioperative period. Since the perioperative period can be a particularly challenging time for patients with SUD, anesthesiologists can tailor their perioperative care to reduce rates of relapse and can serve as both advocates and educators for this vulnerable patient population. This article examines the history of SUD and physiology of substance use in children, adolescents, and young adults, including reasons why young people are more susceptible to the addictive effects of many substances. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted many aspects of life, including increased social isolation and shifted dynamics at home, both thought to impact substance use.3 Substance use patterns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are explored. Although current literature is mostly on adults, the evidence-based medical treatments for patients with SUD are reviewed, and recommendations for perioperative considerations are suggested. The emphasis of this review is on opioid use disorder, cannabis, and vaping particularly because these have disproportionately affected the younger population. The article provides recommendations and resources for recognizing and treating adolescents and young adults at risk for SUD in the perioperative period. It also provides suggestions to reduce new persistent postoperative opioid use.

Considerations for Cannabinoids in Perioperative Care by Anesthesiologists

Increased usage of recreational and medically indicated cannabinoid compounds has been an undeniable reality for anesthesiologists in recent years. These compounds’ complicated pharmacology, composition, and biological effects result in challenging issues for anesthesiologists during different phases of perioperative care. Here, we review the existing formulation of cannabinoids and their biological activity to put them into the context of the anesthesia plan execution. Perioperative considerations should include a way to gauge the patient’s intake of cannabinoids, the ability to gain consent properly, and vigilance to the increased risk of pulmonary and airway problems. Intraoperative management in individuals with cannabinoid use is complicated by the effects cannabinoids have on general anesthetics and depth of anesthesia monitoring while simultaneously increasing the potential occurrence of intraoperative hemodynamic instability. Postoperative planning should involve higher vigilance to the risk of postoperative strokes and acute coronary syndromes. However, most of the data are not up to date, rending definite conclusions on the importance of perioperative cannabinoid intake on anesthesia management difficult.

Perioperative and anaesthetic considerations of marijuana use

The psychoactive substance cannabis is the most-commonly used drug around the world, and its use is becoming more prevalent globally. Additionally, it is becoming available in an increasing variety of forms. As such, it is imperative that perioperative practitioners have an understanding of the drug, its effects, and its implications in perioperative care. There is currently a lack of a standardised approach to a patient who uses cannabis, and prospective studies prove difficult given the current legal status of cannabis. This literature review seeks to provide information regarding cannabis and its use. Specifically, we explore the systemic effects of marijuana as well as perioperative and anaesthetic implications so that safer, more effective care may be administered.

Daring discourse – no: cannabinoids should not be used for acute postoperative pain management

As anesthesiologists and acute pain medicine specialists, we will care for patients in the perioperative period who use cannabinoids for chronic pain and/or marijuana recreationally. We will have to address difficult questions from patients regarding the potential applications for cannabinoids in acute pain management. While we must remain compassionate and understand our patients’ desire to find relief from suffering using available non-opioid medications, we are ethically bound to do no harm and provide them with treatment options supported by the best available evidence. Today, we cannot support cannabinoids in the management of acute postoperative pain.