Cannabis for pain in orthopedics: a systematic review focusing on study methodology

Background: Medical cannabis use is an emerging topic of interest in orthopedics. Although there is a large amount of literature on medical cannabis use for managing various types of pain, few studies have focused on orthopedic conditions. There is little high-quality evidence in core orthopedic areas. The objective of this study was to summarize the literature on the efficacy of cannabis use for pain related to orthopedic conditions. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the use of cannabinoids for pain management in core orthopedic conditions. Two independent reviewers extracted information on reporting quality, risk of bias, drugs, population, control, duration of study, pain outcomes and the authors' conclusions regarding efficacy for pain outcomes. Results: We identified 33 orthopedic studies, including 21 primary studies and 12 reviews. Study quality was generally low to moderate. Six of the included studies had a control group and 15 were noncontrolled studies. Methodologies, drugs and protocols of administration varied greatly across studies. Study conclusions were generally positive in noncontrolled studies and mixed in controlled studies. Studies using higher doses tended to conclude that cannabis use was effective, but the potential for harmful effects may also be increased with higher doses. Conclusion: Variability in the methodologies used in cannabis research makes it challenging to draw conclusions about dosing, routes and frequency of administration. Most of the existing evidence suggests that medical cannabis use is effective, but this efficacy has been demonstrated only when either there is no comparator or cannabis is compared with placebo. Studies using an active comparator have not demonstrated efficacy. Future research should focus on improving study reporting and methodologic quality so that protocols that optimize pain control while minimizing harmful effects can be determined.

Contexte: La consommation de cannabis à des fins médicales est un sujet d'intérêt émergent en orthopédie. Malgré l'existence d'un important corpus de littérature médicale sur l'utilisation du cannabis pour traiter divers types de douleurs, peu d'études ont porté sur les problèmes orthopédiques. On dispose de peu de données probantes de grande qualité relatives aux principaux domaines de l'orthopédie. L'objectif de cette étude était de résumer la littérature sur l'efficacité du cannabis à soulager les douleurs orthopédiques. Méthodes: Nous avons réalisé une revue systématique de la littérature sur l'utilisation des cannabinoïdes pour la prise en charge de la douleur associée aux principaux problèmes orthopédiques. Deux examinateurs indépendants ont extrait l'information sur la qualité des rapports, le risque de biais, les médicaments, les populations et groupes témoins, la durée des études, les scores de douleur et les conclusions des auteurs quant à l'efficacité au plan des scores de douleur. Résultats: Nous avons recensé 33 études orthopédiques, dont 21 études primaires et 12 revues. La qualité des études était généralement de faible à moyenne. Six des études incluses étaient contrôlées et 15 ne l'étaient pas. Les méthodologies, les médicaments et les protocoles d'administration variaient grandement d'une étude à l'autre. Les conclusions étaient généralement positives dans les études non contrôlées, et mixtes dans les études contrôlées. Les études qui utilisaient des doses plus fortes avaient tendance à conclure que le cannabis était efficace, mais le risque d'effets négatifs pouvait également être proportionnel à la dose. Conclusion: En raison de la variabilité des méthodologies utilisées dans la recherche sur le cannabis, il est difficile de tirer des conclusions sur la posologie, les voies et la fréquence d'administration. La plupart des preuves disponibles donnent à penser que le cannabis médical est efficace, mais cette efficacité n'a été démontrée que s'il n'y avait pas de comparateur ou si le cannabis était comparé à un placebo. Les études ayant utilisé un comparateur actif n'ont pas fait état d'efficacité. La recherche future devrait veiller à améliorer les rapports et la qualité méthodologique des études afin de déterminer quels protocoles améliorent la maîtrise de la douleur tout en réduisant les effets négatifs.

Association of Cannabis With Long-Term Clinical Symptoms in Anxiety and Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review of Prospective Studies.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review studies examining the longitudinal associations between cannabis use and symptomatic outcomes among individuals with an anxiety or mood disorder at baseline. DATA SOURCES: A search of the literature up to May 2017 was conducted using several databases. Search terms related to the exposure (ie, cannabis) and outcome (ie, symptoms) variables of interest. There were no search restrictions. STUDY SELECTION: In total, 10,191 citations were screened. Key inclusion criteria related to (1) cohort-based longitudinal study design using adults who met criteria for a mood or anxiety disorder at baseline, (2) an independent variable focusing on at least baseline cannabis use, and (3) a dependent variable focusing on the symptomatic course and/or outcomes in anxiety and mood disorders (AMD). DATA EXTRACTION: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Methodological characteristics and key findings were extracted from each study, and quality assessments were conducted for each study. RESULTS: Twelve studies (with a total of 11,959 individuals) met inclusion criteria related to posttraumatic stress disorder (n = 4), panic disorder (n = 1), bipolar disorder (n = 5), and depressive disorder (n = 2). Across 11 studies, "recent" cannabis use (ie, any/greater frequency of use during the last 6 months) was associated with higher symptomatic levels over time relative to comparison groups (ie, no/lesser frequency of use). Ten of these studies further suggested that cannabis use was associated with less symptomatic improvement from treatment (eg, medication, psychotherapy for AMD). CONCLUSIONS: Recent cannabis use was associated with negative long-term symptomatic and treatment outcomes across AMD. The findings should be interpreted with caution, considering the observational designs across studies and the biases associated with the samples (eg, inpatients) and sources of cannabis consumed (ie, unregulated sources). Nonetheless, clinicians can use the insight gained to inform their own and their patients' knowledge concerning potential risks of cannabis with regard to symptoms of AMD.

Effectiveness of active school transport interventions: a systematic review and update.

BACKGROUND: Active school transport (AST) is a promising strategy to increase children's physical activity. A systematic review published in 2011 found large heterogeneity in the effectiveness of interventions in increasing AST and highlighted several limitations of previous research. We provide a comprehensive update of that review. METHODS: Replicating the search of the previous review, we screened the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Sport Discus and National Transportation Library databases for articles published between February 1, 2010 and October 15, 2016. To be eligible, studies had to focus on school-aged children and adolescents, include an intervention related to school travel, and report a measure of travel behaviors. We assessed quality of individual studies with the Effective Public Health Practice Project quality assessment tool, and overall quality of evidence with the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. We calculated Cohen's d as a measure of effect size. RESULTS: Out of 6318 potentially relevant articles, 27 articles reporting 30 interventions met our inclusion criteria. Thirteen interventions resulted in an increase in AST, 8 found no changes, 4 reported inconsistent results, and 5 did not report inferential statistics. Cohen's d ranged from -0.61 to 0.75, with most studies reporting "trivial-to-small" positive effect sizes. Three studies reported greater increases in AST over longer follow-up periods and two Safe Routes to School studies noted that multi-level interventions were more effective. Study quality was rated as weak for 27/30 interventions (due notably to lack of blinding of outcome assessors, unknown psychometric properties of measurement tools, and limited control for confounders), and overall quality of evidence was rated as low. Evaluations of implementation suggested that interventions were limited by insufficient follow-up duration, incomplete implementation of planned interventions, and limited access to resources for low-income communities. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions may increase AST among children; however, there was substantial heterogeneity across studies and quality of evidence remains low. Future studies should include longer follow-ups, use standardized outcome measures (to allow for meta-analyses), and examine potential moderators and mediators of travel behavior change to help refine current interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered in PROSPERO: CRD42016033252.

Vaporizing cannabis through e-cigarettes: Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates among Ontario high school students.

No abstract available.

Active school travel: an evaluation of the Canadian school travel planning intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Active school travel (AST) may provide a significant source of physical activity for children although rates of AST are declining in many countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Canadian School Travel Planning (STP) intervention by examining changes in school travel mode and predictors of mode change. METHODS: Schools (n=106) across Canada participated between January 2010 and March 2012. STP committees implemented school-specific strategies to increase active school transport (AST) which included educational strategies, activities and events, capital improvement projects and enforcement initiatives. Travel mode at each school was assessed by a hands-up survey and school travel plans were reviewed for content. RESULTS: Complete data were available for 53 schools. There was no increase in AST at follow-up after one year. There was variation in mode change between schools. Only season of data collection predicted a decrease in AST in the morning (B=-5.36, p<.05). CONCLUSION: This Canadian STP evaluation showed no change in AST after one year. There was evidence of some localized success at nearly half of the participating schools. More robust monitoring and evaluation are needed to examine STP effectiveness.

Physical activity and the prevention of depression: a systematic review of prospective studies.

CONTEXT: Given its high prevalence and impact on quality of life, more research is needed in identifying factors that may prevent depression. This review examined whether physical activity (PA) is protective against the onset of depression. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A comprehensive search was conducted up until December 2012 in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Data were analyzed between July 2012 and February 2013. Articles were chosen for the review if the study used a prospective-based, longitudinal design and examined relationships between PA and depression over at least two time intervals. A formal quality assessment for each study also was conducted independently by the two reviewers. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The initial search yielded a total of 6363 citations. After a thorough selection process, 30 studies were included for analyses. Among these, 25 studies demonstrated that baseline PA was negatively associated with a risk of subsequent depression. The majority of these studies were of high methodologic quality, providing consistent evidence that PA may prevent future depression. There is promising evidence that any level of PA, including low levels (e.g., walking <150 minutes/weeks), can prevent future depression. CONCLUSIONS: From a population health perspective, promoting PA may serve as a valuable mental health promotion strategy in reducing the risk of developing depression.

Understanding the drive to escort: a cross-sectional analysis examining parental attitudes towards children's school travel and independent mobility.

BACKGROUND: The declining prevalence of Active School Transportation (AST) has been accompanied by a decrease in independent mobility internationally. The objective of this study was to compare family demographics and AST related perceptions of parents who let their children walk unescorted to/from school to those parents who escort (walk and drive) their children to/from school. By comparing these groups, insight was gained into how we may encourage greater AST and independent mobility in youth living in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada. METHODS: This study involved a cross-sectional design, using data from a self-reported questionnaire (n =1,016) that examined parental perceptions and attitudes regarding AST. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore the differences between households where children travelled independently to school or were escorted. RESULTS: Findings revealed that unescorted children were: significantly older, the families spoke predominantly English at home, more likely to live within one kilometer from school, and their parents agreed to a greater extent that they chose to reside in the current neighborhood in order for their child to walk to/from school. The parents of the escorted children worried significantly more about strangers and bullies approaching their child as well as the traffic volume around school. CONCLUSIONS: From both a policy and research perspective, this study highlights the value of distinguishing between mode (i.e., walking or driving) and travel independence. For policy, our findings highlight the need for planning decisions about the siting of elementary schools to include considerations of the impact of catchment size on how children get to/from school. Given the importance of age, distance, and safety issues as significant correlates of independent mobility, research and practice should focus on the development and sustainability of non-infrastructure programs that alleviate parental safety concerns.