The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series

Abstract Background Medical cannabis may be a useful tool for managing treatment-resistant epilepsy and chronic pain, which affect many patients in pediatric palliative care (PPC); however, little evidence is available in this setting. Case presentation We aimed to describe a clinical experience in...

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Autores principales: Antuan Divisic, Irene Avagnina, Valentina De Tommasi, Anna Santini, Laura Brogelli, Luca Giacomelli, Franca Benini
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: BMC 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/fed06c3d4567484cb787102db4cc77a7
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:fed06c3d4567484cb787102db4cc77a72021-11-28T12:41:21ZThe use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series10.1186/s13052-021-01179-11824-7288https://doaj.org/article/fed06c3d4567484cb787102db4cc77a72021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-021-01179-1https://doaj.org/toc/1824-7288Abstract Background Medical cannabis may be a useful tool for managing treatment-resistant epilepsy and chronic pain, which affect many patients in pediatric palliative care (PPC); however, little evidence is available in this setting. Case presentation We aimed to describe a clinical experience in a setting where high-level evidence may not be obtained. We report our clinical experience in a pediatric palliative care department in Italy. Caregivers reported changes in intensity and frequency of pain and epilepsy events. Six patients received a titrated plant extract of cannabis sativa for 1 year. Only mild and transient adverse events occurred: drowsiness, euphoria, restlessness and tachycardia; the resolution was either spontaneous or obtained by modifying the administration schedule. Treatment was never discontinued. No overdoses occurred. All patients experienced seizures during the pre-treatment observation period, and obtained a reduction in seizure frequency, although with variable extent while receiving cannabis. In addition, a benefit on pain was observed, based on the caregiver’s evaluation, and a reduction of analgesic use. Conclusion Our experience suggests that a titrated plant extract preparation of medical cannabis may be useful to control treatment-resistant pain and epilepsy in PPC patients.Antuan DivisicIrene AvagninaValentina De TommasiAnna SantiniLaura BrogelliLuca GiacomelliFranca BeniniBMCarticlecannabisD9-tetrahydrocannabinolCannabidiolPediatric palliative carePediatricsRJ1-570ENItalian Journal of Pediatrics, Vol 47, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic cannabis
D9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Cannabidiol
Pediatric palliative care
Pediatrics
RJ1-570
spellingShingle cannabis
D9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Cannabidiol
Pediatric palliative care
Pediatrics
RJ1-570
Antuan Divisic
Irene Avagnina
Valentina De Tommasi
Anna Santini
Laura Brogelli
Luca Giacomelli
Franca Benini
The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
description Abstract Background Medical cannabis may be a useful tool for managing treatment-resistant epilepsy and chronic pain, which affect many patients in pediatric palliative care (PPC); however, little evidence is available in this setting. Case presentation We aimed to describe a clinical experience in a setting where high-level evidence may not be obtained. We report our clinical experience in a pediatric palliative care department in Italy. Caregivers reported changes in intensity and frequency of pain and epilepsy events. Six patients received a titrated plant extract of cannabis sativa for 1 year. Only mild and transient adverse events occurred: drowsiness, euphoria, restlessness and tachycardia; the resolution was either spontaneous or obtained by modifying the administration schedule. Treatment was never discontinued. No overdoses occurred. All patients experienced seizures during the pre-treatment observation period, and obtained a reduction in seizure frequency, although with variable extent while receiving cannabis. In addition, a benefit on pain was observed, based on the caregiver’s evaluation, and a reduction of analgesic use. Conclusion Our experience suggests that a titrated plant extract preparation of medical cannabis may be useful to control treatment-resistant pain and epilepsy in PPC patients.
format article
author Antuan Divisic
Irene Avagnina
Valentina De Tommasi
Anna Santini
Laura Brogelli
Luca Giacomelli
Franca Benini
author_facet Antuan Divisic
Irene Avagnina
Valentina De Tommasi
Anna Santini
Laura Brogelli
Luca Giacomelli
Franca Benini
author_sort Antuan Divisic
title The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
title_short The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
title_full The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
title_fullStr The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
title_full_unstemmed The use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
title_sort use of medical cannabis in pediatric palliative care: a case series
publisher BMC
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/fed06c3d4567484cb787102db4cc77a7
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