Abstract
Background: This study aimed to find out the relationship between the serum level of tramadol and consumption dose and the time interval between the drug consumption and arrival at the emergency department (ED).
Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study that included all patients who came to the ED of Sina hospital, a poisoning center, due to the consumption or abuse of tramadol within 6 months. Among these patients, those with unreliable history and history of drug use, those whose primary toxicologic screening in the ED indicated opioids and buprenorphine, and those who used tramadol chronically due to underlying disease were excluded from the study. Demographic characteristics of the patients, the type of consumed drug, the reason for use, the type of complication, and the outcome of the patient extracted from the documentation, blood samples obtained from the patients after obtaining informed consent, and the serum level of tramadol were checked and recorded using the capillary electrophoresis (CE) device.
Results: The study investigated the serum levels of tramadol in 43 male patients presenting to the ED due to tramadol consumption or abuse. The median age was 30 years. All patients were male, and the median dose of utilized tramadol was 2000 mg. The average time from consumption to referral was 6 hours, and 14% of patients experienced seizures after taking the medication. The median serum level of tramadol was 46.12 mmol/dL. Furthermore, quadratic regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between tramadol serum levels with the dose (P=0.233) and the interval (P=0.682) between drug consumption and seeking medical attention.
Conclusion: These findings suggested that serum levels of tramadol do not correlate with the administered dose or the time elapsed before seeking medical help.