01-04-2025
Study Finds 85% Of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Sufferers End Up In The ER
CHS can cause nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and intense pain.
A recent study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, analyzed the disease burden and risk factors for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that impacts some long term cannabis consumers.
This painful condition can lead to symptoms like nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and intense pain. These symptoms can reoccur in a cyclical pattern for as long as cannabis use continues. This cycle can send patients on repeated visits to the ER, and in rare cases, can even lead to death from kidney failure.
While the prevalence of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (or CHS) has not been fully assessed, rates have been increasing as more people become daily or near daily cannabis users, and as awareness of the condition increases amongst medical professionals.
Daily or near daily cannabis use was almost universal for CHS sufferers in this study.
To better assess the risks and burdens associated with CHS, researchers at the George Washington University surveyed 1,052 people who self-reported having cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. The respondents were asked about the frequency of their cannabis use, duration of their use, the age they started consuming cannabis, and whether they had ever needed care at an emergency department or hospital.
The results revealed some features of the syndrome. For one thing, daily cannabis use before CHS began was nearly universal amongst the respondents, with 40% reporting using cannabis more than 5 times a day. Prolonged use was also common, with 44% reporting that they had used cannabis for more than 5 years before CHS began.
In addition, the risks for ER trips and hospitalization were high. 85% of the CHS patients reported at least 1 emergency department visit and 44% reported at least 1 hospitalization associated with their hyperemesis symptoms.
Interestingly, early age of cannabis initiation was associated with higher odds of emergency department visits for CHS symptoms over their lifetime.
This study did have some limitations. As a survey that recruited respondents from CHS support groups, there are some self-selection issues. Patients with more severe symptoms may have been more likely to seek out support groups than those with milder symptoms, which may skew the results. Patients also self-reported their CHS status as well as all symptoms and cannabis use, without methods for researchers to confirm the accuracy of their self-assessments.
Still, the study suggests that the disease burden of CHS could be high. It is worth investigating further in future research.
'This is one of the first large studies to examine the burden of disease associated with this cannabis-linked syndrome,' explains Andrew Meltzer, professor of emergency medicine at the GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences and lead author of the study. 'Our findings suggest that cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome could represent a costly and largely hidden public health problem.'
Meltzer also suggests that other clinicians should share information about CHS and its risks with patients who use cannabis frequently or who have hyperemesis. Many patients don't realize that the syndrome is connected with their use of cannabis, and may even be using cannabis in attempts to ease their nausea.
While not everyone who uses cannabis regularly will suffer from CHS, for those who do, the research suggests that the only known effective treatment is to fully stop using any form of cannabis or hemp.
