The Effect of Local Tramadol Injection in Post Appendectomy Pain

Background: Tramadol is a weak synthetic opioid with an effective analgesic result. This medicine has both systemic and local anesthetic effects on peripheral nerve system.\ud Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare post-appendectomy analgesic effect of subcutaneous injection of tramadol with normal saline.\ud Patients and Methods: This double blind study was conducted on 60 patients over 15 years old, who were randomly divided in two equal groups, i.e. tramadol and normal saline. After repairing fascia in appendectomy, 100 mg of tramadol that was diluted up to 10 mL and 10 mL normal saline were used for subcutaneously injection around the surgical wound in experimental and control groups, respectively. Then, the intensity of pain was recorded in the recovery room, and 6 and 24 hours after operation, based on NRS. In addition, number of petidine (with a dosage of 25 milligram) administered in the same period, in case of severe and moderate pain, was recorded. At the end, the intensity of pain during the mentioned time and the average use of petidine in two groups were compared.\ud Results: The average of severe pain in recovery time (3.08 ± 1.44 versus 5.36 ± 2.02), 6 (3.36 ± 1.22 versus 5.36 ± 1.38) and 12 (2.08 ± 0.76 versus 3.08 ± 1.15) hours after operation was lower in tramadol group (P = 0.0001). Moreover, the amount of consumed petidine in the same period of time showed a clear reduction (P < 0.05).\ud Conclusions: Subcutaneous injection of tramadol is an appropriate choice for reduction of post-appendectomy pain and decreasing need for potent narcotic painkillers. This treatment method can decrease side effects of using potent narcotics after appendectomy