A Study of the Quality of Life of Palliative Care Patients Using Golden Turmeric Cannabis Oil in the Medical Cannabis Clinic, Udon Thani Province
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Abstract
Introduction and objective: The Golden Turmeric Cannabis Oil Recipe represents the wisdom of traditional Thai medicine, developed by a Thai traditional medicine doctor at Huai Koeng Hospital, Udon Thani Province. This research aimed to examine its medical benefits, namely symptom relief, the quality of life of patients, patient performance of self-help, and safety.
Methods: Quality of life measurement tools consisted of the following: (1) Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) for measuring health state severity, (2) European Quality of Life 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), (3) visual analogue scale (VAS) for direct health valuation, and (4) daily self-care palliative performance scale (PPS). A one-group pre- and post-treatment design was conducted on patients diagnosed and indicated for palliative care, and patients’ outcomes were collected on days 0, 7, and 14 from six hospitals and 16 subdistrict health-promoting hospitals in Udon Thani province between November 2022 and November 2023. A descriptive study and Friedman test were used for data analysis.
Results: Among the 122 patients receiving palliative care, 61% were men with an average age of 68±12 years. Of these patients, 32% had cancer, 14% had cerebrovascular disease, and 68% primarily had stable symptoms (PPS>70). The primary indication for the use of Golden Turmeric Cannabis Oil was insomnia (55%), followed by pain (21%), and anorexia (16%). Significant reductions (p<0.05) were observed in pain, tiredness, nausea, loss of appetite, physical and mental discomfort, and insomnia based on ESAS measurement; based on the EQ-5D-5L score, improvements (p<0.05) were noted for movement, anxiety, and depression within the five dimensions of health; direct health assessment or VAS scores also increased (p=0.01); but here was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the PPS scores for health utility and self-care before and after using the medicine; and no changes were observed in vital signs such as blood pressure or pulse rate; however, one case reported dry mouth after using medication.
Discussion: The study results aligns with previous research indicating that cannabis helps alleviate symptoms in this kind of patients, elevate their quality of life and ensure safety. However, patients in this study group still exhibited relatively stable symptoms (PPS score >70), which may differ from patients in previous studies.
Conclusion and recommendation: Golden Turmeric Cannabis Oil has demonstrated positive effects in improving the quality of life, enhancing sleep quality, providing pain relief, and promoting appetite in patients. Further comprehensive clinical studies in palliative care patients in the long term are warranted to deepen our understanding of its efficacy and safety profile.
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