Preemptive Analgesia with Intravenous Tramadol for Postoperative Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Inguinal Hernioplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of preemptive analgesia using tramadol in reducing post-operative pain following inguinal hernioplasty. The objective of the study was to compare the post-operativepain with and without administration of pre-emptive intravenous tramadol in patients undergoing inguinal hernioplasty. Study Design: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial Place and Duration: This study was conducted at Surgical Unit – I of Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi from January 2011 to December 2012. Materials and Methods: Randomization was done by lottery method and patients were divided into two groups. Group I patients received 100mg of tramadol intravenously while group II patients received 4ml of normal saline (placebo) before start of surgical procedure. VAS ratings of pain 6 hours following inguinal hernioplasty was measured in both groups. Results: A total of 248 patients, 124 patients in each group were studied. All patients were male and were in ASA class I and II. Mean age was 37.02 (SD=12.66) in group I, while it was 38.24(SD=13.87) in Group II. VAS scores 6 hours after surgery range from 0 to 10. Mean VAS score 6 hours after surgery was 3.48, (SD=1.67) in patients who received Tramadol (Group I), while it was 6.40, (SD=1.68) in patients who received placebo i.e. normal Saline (Group II) and a p-value of .0001. Conclusion: This implies that the administration of tramadol before the start of the surgical procedures can produce effective postoperative analgesia.