Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF TRAMADOL IN MANAGEMENT OF PAIN IN POSTOPERATIVE CANCER PATIENTS

Dr. G. L. Prabhushankar*, Bhavya Poojary and Dr. Dharitri G. Joshi

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Abstract

Background: Cancer is the second common cause of death worldwide. One of the well-known treatment options in early stages of cancer is tumor excision through surgery. The management of pain postoperatively is one of the main aim of clinicians to enhance postoperative health quality as well as patients satisfaction towards the therapy. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of tramadol in the management of pain in postoperative cancer patients as well as to assess improvements in quality of life of patients after surgery. Materials & Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted among the postoperative cancer patients who were treated with 100mg of tramadol intravenously twice a day to manage the pain. The pain intensity was measured on post-operative day (POD) 1, 3 & 5 using VAS scale to find the efficacy of tramadol. Patients were also observed for occurrence of ADRs. Further patients were assessed for quality of life (QoL) at baseline and after a month of surgery using SF-36 questionnaire. Results: The mean VAS score on POD 1, 3 and 5 were 6.18, 3.69 and 1.37 (P

Keywords: Cancer, Surgery, Tramadol, VAS, SF-36, QoL.