Vaporized Cannabis for Chronic Pain Associated With Sickle Cell Disease

Summary

Our primary objective is to assess whether inhaling vaporized cannabis ameliorates chronic pain in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). As these patients will all be on chronic opioid analgesics, the investigators will also assess the possible synergistic affect between inhaled cannabis and opioids. The investigators will also assess the clinical safety of the concomitant use of cannabinoids and these opioids in patients with SCD by monitoring the short-term side effects associated with combined therapy. Finally, the investigators will evaluate the short-term effects of inhaled cannabis on markers of inflammation and disease progression in patients with SCD. Hypotheses are as follows: 1. Inhaled cannabis will significantly reduce chronic pain in patients with SCD. 2. Inhaled cannabis will significantly alter the short-term side effects experienced by patients who take opioids for SCD. 3. Inhaled cannabis will significantly alter markers of inflammation and disease progression in patients with SCD compared to placebo.

Timeline

Start

2014-08

Primary completion

2017-05-12

Completion

2017-05-19

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper vaporized cannabis did not statistically significantly reduce pain and associated symptoms PMID 32678452 ↗

Publications

• Results Abrams DI, Couey P, Dixit N, Sagi V, Hagar W, Vichinsky E, Kelly ME, Connett JE, Gupta K. Effect of Inhaled Cannabis for Pain in Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jul 1;3(7):e2010874. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.10874.
• Oniyangi O, Cohall DH. Phytomedicines (medicines derived from plants) for sickle cell disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 25;9(9):CD004448. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004448.pub7.

Drugs

Indications