Cannabis arteritis: a new case report and a review of literature

Cannabis arteritis manifests in cannabis users, independently of tobacco consumption. Around 50 cases were reported in the literature since the first description of this entity in 1960. We report the case of a 36-year-old man, cannabis user, without vascular risk factor who developed digital necrosis on the right foot. The pedal pulses were not palpable. He had no abnormal laboratory findings. Arteriography revealed distal segmental lesions and occlusion of popliteal artery. This arteritis was linked to cannabis use, but the patient did not stop cannabis consumption. His symptoms became even worse and he eventually developed sub-acute ischaemia in his left leg despite vascular treatments. Amputation of the right second toe and of the left leg finally became necessary. Cannabis arteritis is relatively similar to thromboangiitis obliterans in its clinical and arteriographical presentation. A parallelism can be made between the role of tobacco in thromboangiitis obliterans pathogenesis and the role of cannabis in cannabis arteritis. Cannabis use must be searched in young patients presenting with arteriopathy. Cannabis arteritis may indeed represent a frequent cause of juvenile peripheral obstructive arterial disease, but is probably under-diagnosed.