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Topics: Health
Jess Battison
A new study has cast doubt on the efficiency of a prescription painkiller.
The research suggests that the drug does not reduce chronic pain as much as may have been thought, and can cause some serious side effects.
More of a particularly popular choice over in the US, tramadol is typically prescribed for moderate to severe pain, such as after an operation or a serious injury.
The NHS say it may also be prescribed to those with long-term pain who no longer feel relief from weaker painkillers.
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The health service also adds that while you may not be able to feel the pain as much, tramadol doesn’t stop it completely, but a study from a group of Danish scientists found that tramadol’s effect on pain was minimal.
The painkiller is an opiate and can lead to patients becoming addicted, so is often closely controlled by doctors.
In the US, more than 16 million prescriptions were written for tramadol in 2023 alone, and so the scientists wanted to see just how effective and safe it is.
Writing in the BMJ Evidence Based Medicine, the team assessed 19 published clinical trials involving over 6,500 people with chronic pain.
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The trials looked at the impact of the drug on neuropathic pain, osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, and fibromyalgia. Participants had an average age of 58, with tablets being the main form of medication, and treatment at between two and 16 weeks.
The pooled data analysis found that while it eased some pain, tramadol’s effect was small and below the threshold of what would be considered clinically effective.
It was also noted from a number of the trials that those using the painkiller faced a higher rate of serious side effects.
Comparing tramadol with placebo drugs, there was a doubling in the risk of suffering harms, largely driven by a higher proportion of ‘cardiac events’ such as chest pain, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure.
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Researchers also found that some patients suffered constipation, dizziness, nausea, and sleepiness.
They did also acknowledged a high risk of bias in the outcomes of the study, but also suggested the positive effects of the drug were likely overstated, and the negatives potentially downplayed.
“In 2019, drug use was responsible for approximately 600,000 deaths, with nearly 80 percent of these fatalities associated with opioids and approximately 25 percent resulting from opioid overdose,” the study concluded.
“Given these trends and the present findings, the use of tramadol and other opioids should be minimised to the greatest extent possible.”