Tramadol-paracetamol combination for postoperative pain relief in elective single level lumbar microdiscectomy surgery: A comparison of two different doses of tramadol

Pain is a suffering and every individual has the right to be pain free. Moreover, pain in the post -operative period may lead to sense of being unwell as well as many complications like nausea, vomiting, hypertension, tachycardia, restricted mobility, breathlessness etc. Thus, it is essential to obtain sufficient pain relief in the perioperative period. The objective of our study was to compare the postoperative pain scores in patients receiving two different doses of tramadol, 1mg/kg and 1.5mg/kg in combination with paracetamol 1gm for elective single-level microdiscectomy. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of thirty each. Group A received injection tramadol 1mg/kg intravenously and group B received injection tramadol 1.5mg/kg intravenously. In addition, both groups received injection paracetamol 1gm intravenous infusion. Pain intensity (VAS score) recorded at 1 minute, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2, 3 and 4 hours in both the groups. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, sedation was also noted. Injection fentanyl 1 mcg/kg intravenously was used as rescue analgesic. Total dose of fentanyl used was also noted. Data was analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. On the basis of the present study, paracetamol(1g) and tramadol (1mg/kg or 1.5mg/kg) intravenously were found to be safe and effective in post-operative pain relief in elective single-level microdiscectomy surgery.