Cannabis-Associated Aerodigestive Symptoms in an Adolescent: A Case Report of Globus Sensation, Dysphagia, and Hypersalivation.
Isabel Draper, Pawanpreet Randhawa, Kristen Guilford et al.
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Case in brief
A 16-year-old male developed globus sensation, dysphagia, and hypersalivation after two years of daily cannabis use. Flexible laryngoscopy and barium esophagram were unremarkable, and empiric proton pump inhibitors, antibiotics, and allergy medications provided little benefit. Symptoms partially improved after cannabis cessation and with glycopyrrolate, then resolved further with sustained abstinence. The temporal relationship raises cannabis as a possible contributor, but causation is uncertain; eosinophilic esophagitis remained a possible alternative because endoscopy with biopsies was not performed.
What made this case unusual
The adolescent’s combination of globus sensation, dysphagia, and hypersalivation occurred with unrevealing initial evaluation and limited response to empiric therapies, while symptoms improved with sustained cannabis abstinence.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
In adolescents with unexplained aerodigestive symptoms, ask about cannabis use and consider it as a possible contributor, while retaining alternative diagnoses such as eosinophilic esophagitis when biopsy-based evaluation has not been done.
Why it matters
Adolescent-specific evidence on cannabis-related esophageal effects is limited, so this case underscores uncertainty rather than establishing a causal relationship.