Comparison of postoperative analgesia with epidural tramadol and morphine in children

Objective To compare the postoperative analgesic effect of different dose tramadol and morphine administrated through epidural space under basic anesthesia with ketaminc in children. Methods Eighty patients undergoing lower abdominal and perineal operation were randomly allocated into 4 groups: control group(C) saline 3ml, morphine group(M) morphine 0.04mg/kg + droperidal 0.03mg/kg, tramadol group 1 (T1) tramadol 1mg/kg + droperidal 0.03 trig/kg, tramadol group 2 (T2) tramadol 2mg/kg + droperidal 0.03mg/kg. All patients received a single injection epidurally before the end of operation. Pain scores and adverse effects were recorded for 48 hours. Duration of excellent analgesia(DEA) was recorded. Results DEA was 9.3±7.0 h in group C, 22.5±16.2 h in group M, 21.2±15.3 h in group T1 and 30.6±19.4 h in group T2. Excellent analgesic duration were significantly longer in group M, T1 and T2 compared with group C (P0.01). Adverse effects were same in these three groups. Conclusion The analgesic effects with tramadol 2mg/kg and Img/kg epidural injection were the same as with morphine 0.04mg/kg epidural injection, and can replace morphine for postoperative analgesia.