Therapeutic use of cannabis, cannabis-derived products and synthetic cannabinoids for rheumatoid arthritis: Protocol for a systematic review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effects of cannabis, cannabis-derived products and synthetic cannabinoids for rheumatoid arthritis. DESIGN: This is the protocol of a systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Searches will be conducted in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), trial registries, grey literature and in a centralized repository in L-OVE (Living OVerview of Evidence). L-OVE is a platform that maps PICO questions to evidence from Epistemonikos database. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES AND METHODS: We will include randomized controlled trials evaluating therapeutic use of cannabis, cannabis-derived products and synthetic cannabinoids for rheumatoid arthritis. Our primary interest will be in trials comparing the intervention with placebo or no treatment (intervention plus optimal treatment vs placebo plus optimal treatment or optimal treatment alone) in patients receiving optimal treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Optimal treatment will be defined as disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Two reviewers will independently screen each study for eligibility, extract data, and assess the risk of bias. We will perform random-effects meta-analyses and use Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the certainty of the evidence for each outcome. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Scientific Ethics Committee of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile granted ethical exemption for the realization of this study. Results of this review will be widely disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, social networks and traditional media and will be sent to relevant international organizations discussing this topic.

Are Cannabis, Cannabis-Derived Products, and Synthetic Cannabinoids a Therapeutic Tool for Rheumatoid Arthritis? A Friendly Summary of the Body of Evidence

“…The interactive version of the evidence matrix is available at the Epistemonikos web site https://www.epistemonikos.org/ under the title “Cannabis, Cannabis-Derived Products, and Synthetic Cannabinoids for Rheumatoid Arthritis.” 41 The upper portion of the matrix will display a warning of “new evidence” if new systematic reviews are published after this structured summary.…”

“…The interactive version of the SoF table can be reviewed online at https://isof.epistemonikos.org/ . 45 …”

“…Key information concerning the magnitudes of relative and absolute effects of the interventions examined, the amount of available evidence, and the certainty (or quality) of available evidence is shown in Table 2. The interactive version of the SoF table can be reviewed online at https://isof.epistemonikos.org/ 45 …”