Pattern of Traumatic Injuries in Patients with Tramadol Poisoning: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital

This study aimed to investigate the incidence and pattern of tramadol-induced seizures and injuriesin patients admitted to the hospital.

The cross-sectional study included 300 patients with alleged tramadol intoxication. Demographicinformation, tramadol dosage and duration of abuse, co-existing illicit drug abuse, hospital stay length, andoccurrence of seizures and trauma (type and site of injuries) were collected. Different statistical tests, includingthe Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson’s Chi-square test, and Student’s t-test, were conducted to compare thepatients with and without seizures, trauma, and co-ingestion of illicit drugs. The analysis was performed usingSPSS software (version 21.0). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The average patient’s age was 24.66±5.64 years, with males comprising 84.3% of the sample. Themean tramadol dose and duration of abuse were 1339.3±1310.2 mg and 2.43±1.35 years, respectively. Seizureswere observed in 66% of patients, with men having a higher incidence (69.6% vs. 46.8%; p=0.004). Trauma wasreported 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 significantlylonger.

Trauma occurs in more than one-third of tramadol-induced seizures, highlighting the needto perform physical examinations to detect and localize injuries. Tramadol-associated traumas prolongedhospitalization times and thus required prompt attention to prevent further injuries during pre-hospital handlingand transferring to hospitals.