Frequent use of cannabis by people with hard-to-treat epilepsy was linked to greater illness severity and other health burdens, according to Washington University et al. Some patients with epilepsy use cannabis due to perceived benefits – but an analysis found that frequent users were admitted to a hospital epilepsy monitoring unit sooner after diagnosis than nonusers: 5 years vs 18 years.
Patients who used cannabis frequently were found to have been “discharged on a greater number of antiseizure medications,” even though the number of medications were similar during admission, according to the study.
Dr. Aaron Struck, senior author of the study, said that the findings indicate that the issue of cannabis use should be raised directly with patients.
