Cannabis arteritis: ever more important to consider
- 1Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
- 2Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hospital de Braga, Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal
- 3Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
- 4Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
- Correspondence to Dr Rui Pedro Santos, drruisantos{at}hotmail.com
- Accepted 25 February 2017
- Published 13 March 2017
Summary
Cannabis arteritis (CA) is a major and underdiagnosed cause of peripheral arterial disease in young patients. A 34-year-old man, daily smoker of 20 cigarettes and two cannabis cigarettes for 14 years, presented with a necrotic plaque of left hallux for 3 weeks. The Doppler ultrasound and angiography were compatible with severe Buerger's disease. Submitted to a revascularisation procedure and hypocoagulation with rivaroxaban. He had ceased smoking but maintained consumption of cannabis. Owing to the persistence of distal necrosis, amputation of the hallux was performed with good evolution. CA is a subtype of Buerger's disease. It is poorly known but increasingly prevalent and manifests in cannabis users regardless of tobacco use. The drug is considered at least a cofactor of the arteriopathy. The most effective treatment is cessation of consumption. Being cannabis one of the most consumed drugs, its mandatory to ask about its use in all young patients with arteriopathy.
Footnotes
-
Contributors The authors RPS and APV contributed to the planning, conducting and reporting of the work. The authors RPS, CIPR and CB contributed to the conception and design of the work. All the authors are responsible for the overall content.
-
Competing interests None declared.
-
Patient consent Obtained.
-
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
