Use of medicinal cannabis derivatives in a pediatric population in Uruguay during 2019-2021

Abstract

Medical cannabis use in Uruguay is framed in the law number 19.172,
approved in 2013. There are no national works published until this
point that explore the usage profile of medical cannabis in children
and adolescents (C&A). The objective was to describe the uses of
medical cannabis in C&A users of Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell
(HP-CHPR) and Clínica de Endocannabinología del Uruguay (CEDU)
between 2019-2021. A descriptive, transversal study was carried
out through telephone interviews and medical history revision. 26
children were included, with a mean age of 7.8 years; 18 men, 23 from
Uruguay and 3 from Argentina, with severe neurological diseases with
refractory epilepsy (16/26) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 7, with
multiple and simultaneous symptoms. The medical cannabis mostly
used was Epifractán® (21/26) orally administered. According to the
guardians surveyed, 18/26 C&A have had some global symptomatic
improvement with medical cannabis; for refractory epilepsy 13/17
reported a decrease in the number and duration of seizures. On C&A whose indications were ASD symptoms, it was reported there had
been improvement in insomnia, language disorders, mood disorders
and attention-deficit. Previously to treatment onset, most guardians
referred to having expectations of improvements. There were 4/26
adverse effects reported and none required hospitalization. For both
indications were corroborated benefits and scarce adverse effects.
It’ll be important to continue analyzing the medical cannabis usage
on other pathologies and execute a long-term tracking of efficiency
and security.