A study conducted at the Yale School of Medicine found that those who use marijuana but not tobacco were not at greater odds of an adverse event up to 90 days following an ankle injury.
“Ankle fractures are common orthopaedic injuries that may be indicated for open reduction internal fixation (ORIF)”, states the study, published in the journal Foot & Ankle International. “Although the negative impact of tobacco use on perioperative outcomes of ankle fracture ORIF has been described, the potential impact of cannabis use on related outcomes is not as well established.”
For the study researchers examined data from a total of 149,289 patients. Of these, 10% used only tobacco, 1.8% used both tobacco and marijuana, and less than 1% used marijuana (867 total).
“On multivariable analyses, isolated tobacco users were at higher odds of 90-day urinary tract infections (UTIs) (odds ratio [OR] 2.64), minor adverse events (OR 2.33), all-cause adverse events (OR 2.17), readmissions (OR 1.85), and severe adverse events (OR 1.84)”, states the study. “Tobacco and cannabis comorbid users were at a marginally higher odds of 90-day UTI (OR 2.82), minor adverse events (OR 2.51), readmissions (OR 2.39), and any adverse events (OR 2.22).”
Researchers state that “Cannabis only users were not at greater odds of 90-day adverse events relative to nonusers.”
