Clinical Takeaway
Existing clinical evidence on cannabinoid use in children spans a large and growing body of literature, including both interventional and observational studies across multiple medical conditions. The research base is heterogeneous in design and quality, making broad conclusions difficult, though documented use in pediatric populations is substantial. Clinicians should interpret findings cautiously and prioritize condition-specific data when considering cannabinoid therapy for pediatric patients.
#2 Cannabinoids for Medical Purposes in Children: A Living Systematic Review.
Citation: Chhabra Manik et al.. Cannabinoids for Medical Purposes in Children: A Living Systematic Review.. Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). 2025. PMID: 40437694.
Design: 5 Journal: 0 N: 2 Recency: 2 Pop: 3 Human: 1 Risk: 0
This living systematic review addresses a critical evidence gap by comprehensively mapping safety and efficacy data for cannabinoid use in pediatric populations, where clinical guidance remains limited despite increasing parental and provider interest in these agents. The continuous update methodology ensures clinicians have access to evolving evidence on cannabinoid safety profiles and therapeutic outcomes in children, enabling more informed risk-benefit assessments for conditions where conventional treatments have failed. Given the unique pharmacokinetic and developmental considerations in pediatric patients, this systematized evidence synthesis is essential for establishing evidence-based dosing protocols and identifying populations most likely to benefit from cannabinoid interventions.
Methodological Considerations:
- Small sample — underpowered for subgroup analysis
Abstract: AIM: We developed a living systematic review (LSR) that will continuously map the safety and reported benefit data related to cannabinoid use for medical purposes in children. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to April 2023. Studies involving at least one child 20% studies) in studies enrolling children were somnolence, diarrhoea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. CONCLUSION: These findings will continue to be updated to inform practice and reveal knowledge gaps for future research.
💚 This living systematic review represents an important attempt to synthesize the emerging evidence base for cannabinoids in pediatric patients, capturing data through April 2023 across major medical databases. The authors appropriately acknowledge that pediatric cannabinoid research remains sparse and heterogeneous, with most evidence derived from case reports and small case series rather than robust randomized controlled trials, limiting our ability to draw firm conclusions about efficacy or safety profiles across different conditions and age groups. Key confounders include significant variability in cannabinoid formulations, dosing regimens, administration routes, and outcome measurement strategies across studies, alongside the challenge of publication bias favoring positive or novel findings. Clinicians should recognize that while cannabinoids show promise for specific pediatric indications such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and certain seizure disorders, the evidence quality remains modest, and concerns about neurodevelopmental effects, drug interactions, and long-term safety in developing brains warrant cautious, individualized decision-making supported by informed consent conversations with families. Until