Home > Chest CT findings in marijuana smokers.

Murtha, Luke and Sathiadoss, Paul and Salameh, Jean-Paul and Mcinnes, Matthew D F and Revah, Giselle (2022) Chest CT findings in marijuana smokers. Radiology, 212611. doi: 10.1148/radiol.212611.

External website: https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.212611


Background: Global consumption of marijuana is increasing, but there is a paucity of evidence concerning associated lung imaging findings. Purpose To use chest CT to investigate the effects of marijuana smoking in the lung.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective case-control study evaluated results of chest CT examinations (from October 2005 to July 2020) in marijuana smokers, nonsmoker control patients, and tobacco-only smokers. We compared rates of emphysema, airway changes, gynecomastia, and coronary artery calcification. Age- and sex-matched subgroups were created for comparison with tobacco-only smokers older than 50 years. Results were analyzed using χ tests.

Results: A total of 56 marijuana smokers (34 male; mean age, 49 years ± 14 [SD]), 57 nonsmoker control patients (32 male; mean age, 49 years ± 14), and 33 tobacco-only smokers (18 male; mean age, 60 years ± 6) were evaluated. Higher rates of emphysema were seen among marijuana smokers (42 of 56 [75%]) than nonsmokers (three of 57 [5%]) ( < .001) but not tobacco-only smokers (22 of 33 [67%]) ( = .40). Rates of bronchial thickening, bronchiectasis, and mucoid impaction were higher among marijuana smokers compared with the other groups ( < .001 to = .04). Gynecomastia was more common in marijuana smokers (13 of 34 [38%]) than in control patients (five of 32 [16%]) ( = .039) and tobacco-only smokers (two of 18 [11%]) ( = .040). In age-matched subgroup analysis of 30 marijuana smokers (23 male), 29 nonsmoker control patients (17 male), and 33 tobacco-only smokers (18 male), rates of bronchial thickening, bronchiectasis, and mucoid impaction were again higher in the marijuana smokers than in the tobacco-only smokers ( < .001 to = .006). Emphysema rates were higher in age-matched marijuana smokers (28 of 30 [93%]) than in tobacco-only smokers (22 of 33 [67%]) ( = .009). There was no difference in rate of coronary artery calcification between age-matched marijuana smokers (21 of 30 [70%]) and tobacco-only smokers (28 of 33 [85%]) ( = .16).

Conclusion: Airway inflammation and emphysema were more common in marijuana smokers than in nonsmokers and tobacco-only smokers, although variable interobserver agreement and concomitant cigarette smoking among the marijuana-smoking cohort limits our ability to draw strong conclusions. © RSNA, 2022 See also the editorial by Galvin and Franks in this issue.

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Cannabis, Tobacco / Nicotine
Intervention Type
Harm reduction, Screening / Assessment
Date
15 November 2022
Identification #
doi: 10.1148/radiol.212611
EndNote
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