Surgical candidates undergoing anesthesia should be screened universally for cannabis use, according to new guidelines from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine).
The guidelines, published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, were coauthored by Samer Narouze, M.D., ASRA Pain Medicine president and NEOMED associate professor of surgery.
In an interview with MedPage Today, Dr. Narouze noted that regular cannabis users may have more pain following surgery. “The main issue we're seeing is more pain in recovery and more nausea and vomiting, also in recovery," he stated in the interview.
"We also saw associations with increased risk for post-operative cardiovascular morbidity -- post-operative myocardial infarction and arrhythmias -- and post-operative cerebrovascular morbidity in some patients," he added.
Read Screen All Surgery Patients for Cannabis Use, New Guidelines Say on MedPage Today
Read ASRA pain medicine consensus guidelines on the management of the perioperative patient on cannabis and cannabinoids in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine