A recent study presented at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) 78th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles revealed that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) positivity does not influence the length of stay (LOS) in epilepsy monitoring units (EMU). Conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, the analysis assessed whether THC test results affected patients’ probability of having shorter or longer hospital stays.
The study evaluated 826 patients admitted to the EMU at Mayo Clinic Hospital between May 2019 and May 2024. Patients were grouped based on THC positivity, determined through urine testing, and categorized by LOS, using a cutoff of 3.0 days to distinguish between shorter and longer stays.
Of the total patients, 184 (22.28%) tested positive for THC, and 642 (77.72%) tested negative. Among THC-positive patients, 26.63% had a shorter LOS, compared to 24.14% of THC-negative patients. This resulted in a minimal 2.49% higher proportion of shorter stays among THC-positive patients. The positive and negative likelihood ratios for THC’s effect on LOS were 1.11 and 0.97, respectively, both close to 1, confirming no significant correlation.
The study authors noted that these findings were limited by the study’s retrospective and single-center design, which might not be generalizable to regions with varying marijuana legality.
“This research demonstrates that THC test results do not alter the likelihood of a short or long LOS in epilepsy monitoring units,” the researchers concluded.
This insight contributes to a broader understanding of THC’s clinical implications and underscores the need for further studies in diverse settings to validate these findings.
