Mirakbari SM, Kazemifar AM, Allami A, Barikani A. Pattern of Traumatic Injuries in Patients with Tramadol Poisoning: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital.
Bull Emerg Trauma 2024;
12:21-25. [PMID:
38689791 PMCID:
PMC11057447 DOI:
10.30476/beat.2024.101078.1484]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to investigate the incidence and pattern of tramadol-induced seizures and injuries in patients admitted to the hospital.
Methods
The cross-sectional study included 300 patients with alleged tramadol intoxication. Demographic information, tramadol dosage and duration of abuse, co-existing illicit drug abuse, hospital stay length, and occurrence of seizures and trauma (type and site of injuries) were collected. Different statistical tests, including the Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson's Chi-square test, and Student's t-test, were conducted to compare the patients with and without seizures, trauma, and co-ingestion of illicit drugs. The analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 21.0). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
The average patient's age was 24.66±5.64 years, with males comprising 84.3% of the sample. The mean tramadol dose and duration of abuse were 1339.3±1310.2 mg and 2.43±1.35 years, respectively. Seizures were observed in 66% of patients, with men having a higher incidence (69.6% vs. 46.8%; p=0.004). Trauma was reported in 23% of patients, accounting for 35.4% of seizure cases. All trauma patients had experienced seizures, with the head and neck being the most prevalent injury sites (55.1%), typically presenting as abrasions (55.9%). Patients with seizures and trauma had an average hospital stay of 1.73±0.94 days, which was significantly longer.
Conclusion
Trauma occurs in more than one-third of tramadol-induced seizures, highlighting the need to perform physical examinations to detect and localize injuries. Tramadol-associated traumas prolonged hospitalization times and thus required prompt attention to prevent further injuries during pre-hospital handling and transferring to hospitals.
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