Should Tramadol be prescribed for osteoarthritis?
Vanessa Jordan 1New Zealand Cochrane Fellow, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: v.jordan@auckland.ac.nz
Journal of Primary Health Care 11(2) 185-186 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC15943
Published: 18 July 2019
Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2019.
This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Cochrane review: Toupin April K, Bisaillon J, Welch V, Maxwell LJ, Jüni P, Rutjes AWS, Husni ME, Vincent J, El Hindi T, Wells GA, Tugwell P. Tramadol for osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 5. Art. No.: CD005522. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005522.pub3.
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent and debilitating condition affecting over 20% of the population aged > 50 years.1 Approximately 15% of people aged > 50 years will consult their GP with regard to knee pain annually.1 This Cochrane review set out to determine the impact of tramadol use by people with osteoarthritis.2
Clinical Bottom Line: Although Tramadol was significantly more likely to reduce pain and increase physical function comparative to placebo, the increases were minor and would probably not be of clinical benefit to patients.2 Tramadol was worse for pain reduction and physical function improvement than NSAIDS and caused more side-effects.2
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References
[1] Jinks C, Jordan K, Ong BN, Croft P. A brief screening tool for knee pain in primary care (KNEST). 2. Results from a survey in the general population aged 50 and over. Rheumatology 2004; 43 55–61.| A brief screening tool for knee pain in primary care (KNEST). 2. Results from a survey in the general population aged 50 and over.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 12923283PubMed |
[2] Toupin April K, Bisaillon J, Welch V, et al. Tramadol for osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019; Art. No.: CD005522
| Tramadol for osteoarthritis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
