Low-Dose Tramadol and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Combination Therapy Prevents the Transition to Chronic Low Back Pain.
10.4184/asj.2016.10.4.685
- Author:
Kazuhide INAGE
1
;
Sumihisa ORITA
;
Kazuyo YAMAUCHI
;
Takane SUZUKI
;
Miyako SUZUKI
;
Yoshihiro SAKUMA
;
Go KUBOTA
;
Yasuhiro OIKAWA
;
Takeshi SAINOH
;
Jun SATO
;
Kazuki FUJIMOTO
;
Yasuhiro SHIGA
;
Koki ABE
;
Hirohito KANAMOTO
;
Masahiro INOUE
;
Hideyuki KINOSHITA
;
Kazuhisa TAKAHASHI
;
Seiji OHTORI
Author Information
1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. kazuhideinage@yahoo.co.jp
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Spine;
Low back pain;
Tramadol;
Anti-inflammatory agents, non-steroidal
- MeSH:
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal;
Diagnosis;
Drug Therapy;
Humans;
Incidence;
Low Back Pain*;
Retrospective Studies;
Spine;
Tramadol*;
Visual Analog Scale
- From:Asian Spine Journal
2016;10(4):685-689
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. PURPOSE: To determine whether low-dose tramadol plus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination therapy could prevent the transition of acute low back pain to chronic low back pain. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Inadequately treated early low back pain transitions to chronic low back pain occur in approximately 30% of affected individuals. The administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is effective for treatment of low back pain in the early stages. However, the treatment of low back pain that is resistant to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is challenging. METHODS: Patients who presented with acute low back pain at our hospital were considered for inclusion in this study. After the diagnosis of acute low back pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration was started. Forty patients with a visual analog scale score of >5 for low back pain 1 month after treatment were finally enrolled. The first 20 patients were included in a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug group, and they continued non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy for 1 month. The next 20 patients were included in a combination group, and they received low-dose tramadol plus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination therapy for 1 month. The incidence of adverse events and the improvement in the visual analog scale score at 2 months after the start of treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: No adverse events were observed in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug group. In the combination group, administration was discontinued in 2 patients (10%) due to adverse events immediately following the start of tramadol administration. At 2 months, the improvement in the visual analog scale score was greater in the combination group than in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose tramadol plus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination therapy might decrease the incidence of adverse events and prevent the transition of acute low back pain to chronic low back pain.
