Outcomes Examined for Cannabis Users After Lower-Extremity Bypass

FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing lower-extremity bypass, cannabis use is associated with reduced graft patency, increased amputation, and increased opioid use, according to a study published online Sept. 22 in the Annals of Vascular Surgery.

Drew J. Braet, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues queried a large statewide registry from 2014 to 2021 to assess the association between cannabis use and postoperative outcomes after lower-extremity bypass. Data were included for 11,013 patients who underwent lower-extremity bypass procedures.

The researchers found that 91.0 and 9.0 percent of patients reported no cannabis use and cannabis use in the past month, respectively. Patients using cannabis had higher opioid use at discharge (odds ratio, 1.56), reduced bypass patency at 30 days and one year (odds ratios, 0.52 and 0.64, respectively), and an increased rate of amputation at one year after lower-extremity bypass (odds ratio, 1.25) compared with noncannabis users.

“Our results serve as an important framework for physicians and vascular surgeons to use when counseling patients who use cannabis about the risks of lower extremity bypass,” the authors write. “Patients should be screened for cannabis use and counseled appropriately when considering vascular procedures.”

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