INTRAVENOUS VERSUS EPIDURAL TRAMADOL FOR POST-OPERATIVE ANALGESIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Dr Parikshit Singh; Dr Rajshree Singh; Dr Kavitha Jinjil

Volume : VII, Issue : V, May - 2018

INTRAVENOUS VERSUS EPIDURAL TRAMADOL FOR POST-OPERATIVE ANALGESIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Dr Parikshit Singh, Dr Rajshree Singh, Dr Kavitha Jinjil

Abstract :

Background: Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, is regarded as having lesser side effects as opposed to traditional opioids. This randomized controlled study comparesTramadol given intravenouslyand epidurally for post–operative analgesia in lower abdominal and lower limb surgeries under general anaesthesia (GA).Methods:Fifty patients were randomly allocated into two groups receiving tramadol intravenously (Gp I) and epidurally (Gp II), at the time of wound closure. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score was noted post–operatively and the average duration of analgesia, post–operative respiratory/hemodynamic parameters and side effects were noted. Values obtained were statistically analysed using unpaired student �t� test.Results:The average duration of analgesia was 2 hours 40mins inGp I as compared to 5 hours 18 mins in Gp II, the difference being statistically significant (p<0.05) at 95% confidence intervals. Orthopaedic cases showed maximum pain relief (Gp I 45–60 mins, Gp II 65–90 mins).Stable respiratory/hemodynamic parameters prevailed in both groups. Post–operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was the most common side effect with tramadol (IV > Epidural; 56% vs 36%; p<0.05).Conclusion:Epidural tramadol is more efficacious as compared to intravenous tramadol. However, a larger sample size is needed for further validation of these findings.