Tramadol as a Local Anaesthetic in Tendon Repair Surgery of the Hand

This double-blind pilot study compared the local anaesthetic effects of tramadol plus adrenaline with lidocaine plus adrenaline during surgery to repair hand tendons. Twenty patients were randomly allocated to receive either 5% tramadol plus adrenaline (n = 10) or 2% lidocaine plus adrenaline (n = 10). Injection site pain and local skin reactions were recorded. At 1-min intervals after injection of the anaesthetic agent, the degree of sensory blockade was assessed by the patient reporting the extent to which they felt a pinprick, light touch and a cold sensation. Pain felt during surgical incision was also recorded. There was no difference in the quality of sensory blockade or the incidence of side effects between the two groups. Only patients treated with tramadol did not require additional post-operative analgesia. A combination of tramadol plus adrenaline provided a local anaesthetic effect similar to that of lidocaine plus adrenaline.

[1]  E. Kargı,et al.  Comparison of local anaesthetic effects of tramadol with prilocaine for minor surgical procedures. , 2003, British journal of anaesthesia.

[2]  E. Gessler,et al.  Optimal Concentration of Epinephrine for Vasoconstriction in Ear Surgery , 2001, The Laryngoscope.

[3]  I. Jou,et al.  Direct Tramadol Application on Sciatic Nerve Inhibits Spinal Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in Rats , 2001, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[4]  I. Acalovschi,et al.  Tramadol Added to Lidocaine for Intravenous Regional Anesthesia , 2001, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[5]  I. Yildirim,et al.  Vascular Effects of Epinephrine, Lisinopril, and Chlorpromazine in Diabetic and Non‐diabetic Rats , 1999, Journal of reconstructive microsurgery.

[6]  W. Pang,et al.  The peripheral analgesic effect of tramadol in reducing propofol injection pain: a comparison with lidocaine. , 1999, Regional anesthesia and pain medicine.

[7]  S. Kapral,et al.  Tramadol added to mepivacaine prolongs the duration of an axillary brachial plexus blockade. , 1999, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[8]  L. Phillips,et al.  Epinephrine in Digital Blocks: Revisited , 1998, Annals of plastic surgery.

[9]  W. Pang,et al.  Local Anesthetic Effect of Tramadol, Metoclopramide, and Lidocaine Following Intradermal Injection , 1998, Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

[10]  P. Sacerdote,et al.  Effects of tramadol on immune responses and nociceptive thresholds in mice , 1997, Pain.

[11]  G. Postma,et al.  Optimal Concentration of Epinephrine for Vasoconstriction in Neck Surgery , 1996, The Laryngoscope.

[12]  M. A. Rowe,et al.  A Comparison of the Local Anesthetic Effects of Meperidine, Fentanyl, and Sufentanil on Dorsal Root Axons , 1996, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[13]  M. James,et al.  Intravenous Tramadol Versus Epidural Morphine for Postthoracotomy Pain Relief: A Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Trial , 1996, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[14]  I. Acalovschi,et al.  Intravenous Regional Anesthesia with Meperidine , 1995, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[15]  D. McTavish,et al.  Tramadol. A preliminary review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic potential in acute and chronic pain states. , 1993, Drugs.

[16]  A. Nimmo,et al.  Pethidine has a local anaesthetic action on peripheral nerves in vivo , 1993, Anaesthesia.

[17]  F. Sjöberg,et al.  Lack of Peripheral Analgesic Effect of Low-dose Morphine During Intravenous Regional Anesthesia , 1992, Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

[18]  P. Rosenberg,et al.  Fentanyl‐prilocaine mixture for intravenous regional anaesthesia in patients undergoing surgery , 1992, Anaesthesia.

[19]  M. Vickers,et al.  Tramadol: pain relief by an opioid without depression of respiration , 1992, Anaesthesia.

[20]  I. Power,et al.  The Effect of Fentanyl, Meperidine and Diamorphine on Nerve Conduction in Vitro , 1991, Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

[21]  W. Larrabee,et al.  Vasoconstrictors in facial plastic surgery. , 1991, Archives of otolaryngology--head & neck surgery.

[22]  S. Datta,et al.  Effects of Fentanyl and Sufentanil on Peripheral Mammalian Nerves , 1987, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[23]  C. Stones,et al.  The Volunteers , 1987 .

[24]  R. Shank,et al.  Opioid and nonopioid components independently contribute to the mechanism of action of tramadol, an 'atypical' opioid analgesic. , 1992, The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics.

[25]  M. Clarke,et al.  Patients undergoing surgery , 1989 .