Cannabis intoxication at admission did not affect nutritional status in burn patients with smaller injuries | Research

The takeaway

A matched study of 152 burn patients found no significant difference in nutritional markers (prealbumin and albumin) between those who tested positive for cannabis and matched controls, despite cannabis's known appetite-stimulating properties.

Burn surgeons, trauma clinicians, nutritionists in acute care

No significant nutritional differences between cannabis-positive and negative burn patients

What the researchers found

Cannabis-positive burn patients showed no significant differences in admission prealbumin (18.8 vs 19.2, p=0.804), admission albumin (3.9 vs 4.0, p=0.375), or time to peak nutritional markers compared to matched controls. Increased age was associated with lower admission albumin (p<0.001).

Why it matters

Burn patients have extreme metabolic demands and are highly susceptible to malnutrition. Understanding whether cannabis intoxication affects their nutritional status is clinically relevant, especially as cannabis use becomes more common among trauma patients.

The numbers in context

76 cannabis-positive patients matched with 76 controls; prealbumin: 18.8 vs 19.2 (p=0.804); albumin: 3.9 vs 4.0 (p=0.375); days to peak prealbumin: 3.8 vs 3.9 (p=0.876); days to peak albumin: 0.3 vs 1.0 (p=0.088); <20% TBSA burns

How the study worked

Single-institution retrospective study of adult burn patients with less than 20% total body surface area burns who tested positive for cannabis on admission urine toxicology (2015-2024), matched 1:1 with cannabis-negative controls. Outcomes included burn characteristics, nutritional markers, and complications.

What this study cannot tell us

Restricted to smaller burns (<20% TBSA), so findings may not apply to major burns. Urine toxicology detects recent use but not intoxication level. Retrospective single-institution design. Sample size may be too small to detect subtle differences.

How to read the evidence

Moderate: matched cohort design with objective lab markers, but limited by small sample, single institution, and restriction to smaller burns.

When this study was published

2026 publication analyzing 2015-2024 data from a single burn center.

The bigger picture

This challenges the notion that cannabis's appetite-stimulating effects would meaningfully impact clinical nutrition in acute settings. For burn patients at least, cannabis intoxication at admission appears metabolically neutral.

Questions still open

Would results differ for major burns with >20% TBSA? Does chronic cannabis use (vs. acute intoxication) affect burn healing differently? Could cannabis's anti-inflammatory properties have any effect on burn recovery?

Common questions

Does cannabis affect nutrition in burn patients?

This study found no significant impact. Cannabis-positive burn patients had similar prealbumin and albumin levels to matched controls, and reached peak nutritional markers at similar times.

Why study cannabis and burns specifically?

Burn patients have extremely high metabolic demands and are prone to malnutrition. Since cannabis stimulates appetite, researchers wanted to know if intoxication at admission would affect nutritional status, but it did not.

Read the original research

Cannabis Intoxication Does Not Impact Nutritional Status in Patients with Small Burns.

Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Wang, Sarah; Stanton, Eloise; Emeh, Amara; Manasyan, Artur; Wong, Sunnie; Boudiab, Elizabeth; Baranco, Paige; Johnson, Maxwell B; Gillenwater, T Justin. (2026). Cannabis Intoxication Does Not Impact Nutritional Status in Patients with Small Burns.. Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association. https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/irag027