AB0953 CANNABINOIDS: FRIEND OR FOE OR A BYSTANDER?
Authors: N. Jain, N. Reddy, A. Moorthy
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: Cannabinoids has recently gained popularity for use in chronic pain. There is a lot of inquisitiveness among our patients wherein health care professionals are asked about its efficacy, side effects and sometimes even ask for a prescription! As there is paucity of data and research about its use in rheumatology, patient reported outcome(PROM) can guide ahead in expanding our knowledge and experience. Objectives: To study usage of cannabinoids by rheumatology patients To study awareness among primary physicians regarding Cannabinoid usage in rheumatology. Methods: Cross sectional survey with two arms. Arm 1 Information from patients attending tertiary rheumatology clinic,including perception regarding the use of Cannabinoids. Arm 2 consisted of collecting data via web-based survey with20-question from 100 GPs of Leicestershire. Questions on demographics, perspectives on and knowledge of cannabinoid use. Statistical analysis SPSS software. Results: Arm1 Total 102 rheumatology patients with 60%were females and 45% secondary education. 48% were unemployed. 75% Caucasians, 18% Asians. RA most common diagnosis followed by OA and FMS. 40 % depression and anxiety in addition to Rheumatic disease. 94% reported ongoing pain with 6-8 on a VAS scale. 79% were satisfied with their current therapy. 65% had heard about complementary medicine and 15% reported using cannabinoids. Most common form Cannabinoids oil 60% followed by smoking 20%. 56% reported using &gt;3 months and majority 72% use daily. Median age 55 years. 88% users Caucasians. Mean disease duration 6.25 years among users indicates chronicity of disease has a direct proportion in usage. All users had ongoing pain of 7 on VAS. 87% believed it helps them managing pain effectively with a pain free state. On an average spends between 50-100 pounds per week. More than half believe cannabinoids should be available as a prescription drug in NHS and 30% interested to know more about it. In Arm 2 consisting of Primary care physicians, response rate 50%. Average clinical experience 5 years. Only 20% heard about usage of complementary medicine by rheumatology patient. Most replied that 10% of their patients use Cannabinoids for pain management. Most did not believe use of cannabinoids benefited the patients. Only 4% recommend its usage. 25% think it should be available as prescription. 40% experienced patients asking about cannabinoids during appointment. 88% of respondents did not know much about cannabinoid usage in rheumatology and have never prescribed it in their practice. Conclusion: Cannabinoids widely used by the rheumatology patients with PROM favouring its efficacy for control of chronic pain. Preclinical data suggest that cannabinoids might have a therapeutic potential RA 1 , OA, FMS 2 . Clinical data regarding cannabinoid treatment for rheumatic diseases are scarce, therefore, recommendations concerning cannabinoid treatment cannot be made. All patients who reported using it suffered from moderate to severe chronic pain. Thus main indication of usage was pain rather than recreational purpose. Although a small survey it clearly highlights lack of knowledge among primary physicians. These results emphasise the need for further research regarding the benefits and risks of cannabinoids in rheumatology. References: [1]RichardsonD. etal Characterisation ofthe cannabinoid receptor system in synovial tissue andfluid in patients with OA and RA Arthritis Res.Ther. 10, R43 (2008). [2]Walitt, B etal Cannabinoids for fibromyalgia. Cochrane DatabaseSyst. Rev. 7, CD011694 (2016). Disclosure of Interests: Nibha Jain: None declared, Neelima Reddy: None declared, Arumugam Moorthy Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis,UCB,MSD