Drugs under experimental and clinical research
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Multicenter trial comparing tramadol and morphine for pain after abdominal surgery.
Seventy patients (40 male, 30 female), mean (SD) age 60.8 +/- 13.7 years were treated with parenteral morphine (10 mg/1 ml ampul) or tramadol (100 mg/2 ml ampul) to verify their analgesic effects in pain following abdominal surgery. The multicenter trial followed an open, controlled experimental design between patients, randomized within the centers. The drugs were given by intramuscular injection, as requested by patients, starting in the postoperative period when pain was more than 70 mm, assessed on a visual analog scale. ⋯ The quality of sleep and the number of hours of sleep the night after surgery were similar for both groups. Tramadol was tolerated better, giving rise to no untoward reactions; with morphine there was one case of mild respiratory depression. In abdominal surgery, therefore, tramadol given by intramuscular injection has postoperative analgesic activity similar to morphine, but is better tolerated.