Comparison of intraoperative analgesic effect of i.v tramadol and i.v butorphanol – a randomised prospective study

Introduction: Butorphanol and tramadol are both synthetic opioids with potent analgesic properties which are used for intra operative and post operative analgesia. This study tried to evaluate & compare the analgesic efficacy and side effects of intravenous butorphanol and tramadol in patients undergoing surgery. Patients and methods: The study was conducted by Department of Anesthesiology, MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, Odisha. It was a prospective, randomized, double blind controlled trial with 100 patients. Patients were allocated randomly into one of two groups of 50 patients each to receive tramadol hydrochloride (100mg IV) Group 1 or butorphanol tartarate (1mg IV) Group 2 before induction of general anaesthesia as per their randomization. The patients were monitored for cardiovascular changes (pulse rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure), duration of analgesia, intraoperative analgesic supplementation and adverse effects with respect to the 2 groups. Result: The cardiovascular pressor response was attenuated more in the patients who received butorphanol in comparison to the tramadol group after intubation. The post-operative analgesia was also significantly longer with butorphanol. Incidence of nausea and vomiting was higher in tramadol group than in butorphanol which was statistically significant. Sedation was seen more in butorphanol group than tramadol group but no patient developed respiratory depression. Conclusion: Butorphanol tartarate is a better analgesic during general anaesthesia than tramadol hydrochloride, having less CVS effect, better operative and prolonged post- operative analgesia without the supplementation of other analgesics during the intraoperative period.