Cannabis use disorder and severe sepsis outcomes in cancer patients: Insights from a national inpatient sample

Figure 1 Flowchart of patient selection of study population. This flowchart depicts the selection process for hospitalized adult cancer patients with severe sepsis from the National Inpatient Sample database between 2016 and 2020. Total of the 10741427 hospitalized adult cancer patients, those without severe sepsis were excluded, resulting in a cohort of 743520 patients. This cohort was further divided into two groups: Those with cannabis use disorder (n = 4945) and those without cannabis use disorder (n = 738575). CUD: Cannabis use disorder.

Figure 2 Epidemiology and patient characteristics. A: Trends in cannabis use among hospitalized cancer patients with severe sepsis. This line graph displays the proportion of patients receiving vasopressors during their hospitalization over a five-year period. Trends are shown for the total patient population, as well as for males and females separately; B: Comparison of comorbidities between cannabis use disorder (CUD) (+) and CUD(-) cohorts, expressed as percentages. This figure displays the percentage of patients with various comorbidities in the two cohorts: Those with and without CUD. HLD: Hypomyelinating leukodystrophy.

Figure 3 Forest plot demonstrating primary outcomes. This forest plot displays the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for various in-hospital outcomes among patients with cannabis use disorder compared to those without cannabis use disorder. RF: Respiratory failure; AIS: Acute ischemic stroke; CA: Cardiac arrest; VF: Ventricular fibrillation; Vf: Ventricular flutter; AMI: Acute myocardial infarction; MACCE: Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event.

Figure 4 Trends in primary outcomes among cancer patients with cannabis use disorder admitted with severe sepsis. This line graph illustrates the percentage of patients experiencing specific in-hospital outcomes over five years. MACCE: Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event.