More study is needed, but a new U.S. review indicates topical capsaicin helped to provide relief for individuals with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) who visited both paediatric and adult emergency departments (EDs).

Characterized by recurrent nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain, CHS symptoms “are frequently unresponsive to standard antiemetic therapy,” notes the study published online in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Research published in 2017 agreed topical capsaicin — a chemical compound first isolated from chili peppers — “was associated with improvement in symptoms of CHS after other treatments failed.” Although research involved only 13 patients, all “experienced symptom relief.”

In the latest study, U.S. researchers found that “significantly more patients in the capsaicin group experienced efficacy” compared to patients who were not administered the treatment.

Of the 201 patients with suspected or confirmed CHS, applying the topical to the abdomen resulted in shorter periods between the treatment and discharge from the emergency department (ED) than for those who didn’t receive the treatment.

While discharge was quicker, the treatment did not appear to “influence patients’ total number of medications received or total ED length of stay,” study authors point out.

CHS is characterized by recurrent nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain. / PHOTO BY METAMORWORKS / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

The findings demand additional research, including to “determine capsaicin’s efficacy when utilized earlier in therapy, ideally upon initial diagnosis of CHS, and before additional adjunct medications are administered.”

The results are in line with those from a study involving 43 patients that was published last year. The ED length of stay was slightly reduced, this time by a median of 22 minutes, but the patients receiving capsaicin also had fewer additional medications and less opioid use.

“Forty-two percent of patients did not have a repeat CHS presentation to the ED after receiving capsaicin for an additional three months after the study period ended,” study authors noted.

That said, another study this year found “topical capsaicin was not associated with shorter length of stays than no capsaicin. When given earlier during an ED visit, it is associated with a shorter length of stay than when given later.”

According to Cedars Sinai, with regard to the digestive tract, it appears cannabis can make a consumer “more likely to have nausea and vomiting.” The syndrome can be prevented by “not using marijuana in any form,” states the information, adding that if use continues, “their symptoms will likely come back.”