Anaesthetic drugs & techniques
Cannabis use and anaesthetic agent dosing in patients undergoing surgery or interventional procedures: a single-centre retrospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
Cannabis use was associated with modestly higher propofol and volatile anaesthetic doses. However, effect sizes were smaller than previously reported
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing propofol sedation or volatile-based GA, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, US, 2008–2024
- Participants
- 341,199 adults
- Exposure
- Non-medical or medical cannabis use vs no cannabis use
- Non-medicaln = 23,896
- Medicaln = 3,193
- Outcome
- Propofol dose (μg kg-1 min-1) for MAC (monitored anaesthesia care) and mean end tidal age-adjusted MAC values for GA
Methodological detailssingle-centre, multivariable adjusted
- Single-centre
- Multivariable adjusted
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Propofol dose and volatile anaesthetic dose (adjusted difference in mean)
- Non-medical
- adjusted difference +6.85 μg kg-1 min-1 propofol (95% CI 6.07–7.63); P < 0.001
- Medical
- adjusted difference +2.87 μg kg-1 min-1 propofol (95% CI 0.88–4.86); P = 0.005
- Non-medical · volatile anaesthetics
- adjusted difference +0.01 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) (95% CI 0.01–0.02); P < 0.001
- Medical · volatile anaesthetics
- adjusted difference +0.02 MAC (95% CI 0.01–0.03); P = 0.002
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Estimate | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Propofol dose, daily recreational users (subgroup)Effects strongest among frequent users | adjusted difference +8.41 μg kg-1 min-1 propofol (95% CI 7.00–9.81) | P < 0.001 |
| Heart rate increase after tracheal intubation at comparable propofol induction dosesNon-medical vs No cannabis use | difference +1.45 beats min-1 (95% CI 1.10–1.79) | P < 0.001 |
Original publication
Cannabis use and anaesthetic agent dosing in patients undergoing surgery or interventional procedures: a single-centre retrospective cohort study. Br J Anaesth. Published 29 September 2026. doi:10.
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