Authors: E. Freye, J.V. Levy
Pain and
cognitive impairment in the
elderly patient with osteoarthritis (OA) often is managed inadequately with common NSAIDs. We therefore evaluated the opioid-like agent tramadol, preportedly also acting as a monaminergic reuptake inhibitor. Patients (75 years+/-7S.D.; 17 female, 2 male) with chronic OA of the knee, elbow, shoulder and hip complaining of
acute pain were given two 50mg/70kg oral doses of tramadol 30min apart. Before, during and 2h after medication, the following parameters were measured: 1.Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). 2.Visual analogue scaling (VAS) of pain associated with movement. 3.Relative changes in the EEG-power spectra (@d, @q, @a, @b) to control, over a…
