MONDAY, March 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) — An approved CBD oil product will, apparently, not be the solution for patients trying to reduce pain after kidney stone treatment, a randomized clinical trial suggests.
“Urologists and patients alike are interested in finding effective alternatives to pain management after urinary stone treatment,” said senior study author Dr. Karen Stern, a urologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Ariz. “Our study found that although treatment with CBD oil was safe, it wasn’t effective in minimizing pain or opioid use after ureteroscopy and stent placement.”
For the study, researchers tested the cannabidiol (CBD) oil product in 90 patients who were undergoing the treatment for urinary stones. CBD is a non-psychoactive component of cannabis.
Urinary stones in the kidney or ureter are a common problem. When they’re too big to pass through, they must be treated surgically using an instrument called a ureteroscope to remove or fragment the stones.
Often, a soft plastic tube called a stent is then placed to ensure that urine can drain from the kidney into the bladder until swelling in the ureter stops.
Many patients need medication, such as opioids, to manage the pain.
Opioid use after ureteroscopy is a risk factor for opioid dependence, so researchers have been trying to find alternative pain treatments.
