Treating postoperative pain? Avoid tramadol, long-acting opioid analgesics and long-term use

A recent cohort study investigated ‘the risk of transitioning from acute to prolonged use’ of opioid analgesics in patients undergoing elective surgery. Patients given tramadol or long-acting opioids after discharge were at greater risk of prolonged opioid use than those who were given other short-acting opioids. ### EBM verdict EBM Verdict on: Chronic use of tramadol after acute pain episode: cohort study. BMJ 2019 May 14. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l1849. Strong pain-relieving medicines called opioids are commonly prescribed when patients are discharged from hospitals. However, pain after elective surgery is usually short-lived. This cohort study1 addresses an important question regarding the prolonged use of opioid analgesics after elective surgery in light of the opioid crisis in the USA and Canada and increased prescribing of opioids in high-income countries.2 Tramadol is both a weak mu-opioid receptor agonist and a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Its active metabolite, O -desmethyltramadol, is longer acting than tramadol itself and is a more potent mu-opioid receptor agonist. Responses to tramadol, therefore, vary according to the genotype of the main metabolising enzyme, CYP2D6.3 Tramadol has been …