This famous painkiller is not as effective as thought and has too many side effects, according to a study.

He tramadol It is the opioid drug most commonly used as an analgesic due to its perceived good benefit/risk balance and lower likelihood of dependence than other opioids. However, a new study conducted by scientists from several Danish research centers indicates that The balance is much worse than we think.

According to their review of 19 clinical studies, The ability of tramadol to reduce pain This is a very low figure. Instead side effects They may be much more serious than we have previously thought. Thus, benefit/risk balance this analgesic tends to be risky.

Typically, when this occurs, the use of said drug is not recommended or is limited to very exceptional situations in which there is no better option. This is a study that raises the question of the need for change pharmacological strategies for treating painin which tramadol is usually one of the most commonly used options. It is true that there are other, more widely used analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Tramadol, on the other hand, was one of the first treatment options for severe pain, such as neuropathic pain or chronic back pain. Now perhaps we should look for a better alternative.

What does this study say about tramadol?

To conduct this research 19 clinical studies were selected. in which the effects of tramadol were analyzed. Total 6506 patients aged 47 to 69 years.. Five of the selected studies analyzed the effect of tramadol on neuropathic pain; 9 focused on osteoarthritis; 4 studied chronic low back pain, and the last presented patients with fibromyalgia.

Regarding the duration of the clinical studies, the course of treatment ranged from 2 to 16 weeks, but the observation period for patients ranged from 3 to 15 weeks. Patients are usually observed for some time after treatment.

Combining the data from all of these clinical trials revealed something that was not seen when looking at them individually: Tramadol reduced the pain, but not significantly. In fact, this was not enough to consider the reduction clinically significant.

Instead, they saw a doubling of the risk of some serious side effects compared with patients taking placebo. For example, this applies to cardiovascular diseases such as: chest pain, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure. An association has also been found with some types of cancer, although given that the follow-up time was very short, it cannot be certain that a true association exists.

Finally, many mild side effects such as dizziness, constipation, nausea, or drowsiness.

Should I change my pain medication?

If you are taking tramadol, do not stop taking it without consulting your doctor. Finally, it must be acknowledged that this study has some limitations, such as short follow-up time. It is also advisable to take into account some possible interfering factors. Despite this, its authors believe that, with these results, it is worth continuing research. Because the benefit-risk ratio of tramadol may not be as good as we thought. If this continues to be demonstrated, some protocols may need to be changed.