Abstract
Introduction
Tramadol hydrochloride is a synthetic μ,-opioid agonist. It has been used in the control of moderate to severe pain. Most of the studies on tramadol were related to post-operative pain control. Data on acute pain control in the emergency setting were limited. This study reported on the initial evaluation of tramadol for pain control in an emergency department.
Materials and methods
It was a prospective observational study. Patients aged 16 years or above attending our emergency department with moderate to severe pain were recruited. Patients with known allergy, current psychiatric medication, intake of alcohol, major systemic illness and opioid dependence were excluded. All patients received 100 mg intramuscular tramadol injection. A 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain severity before injection, 30 minutes and 60 minutes after injection. Vital signs and side effects were also recorded.
Results
Forty patients (M: 24, F: 16) were recruited from October to December 2002. Their mean age was 53.5 years. The majority of them suffered from acute musculoskeletal pain or arthritis. Tramadol was shown to be effective in pain control. The VAS decreased by 1.90 (p<0.001) and 3.38 (p<0.001) at 30 minutes and 60 minutes respectively. Four patients reported nausea and three patients vomited.
Conclusion
Tramadol appeared to be a safe drug to be used in the emergency setting. Only a few insignificant side effects were reported. The comparison of efficacy with other analgesics requires further studies.