A Comparative Study of Paracetamol and Tramadol in Hysterectomy Patients

Aim: To compare the efficacy and side effects of paracetamol and tramadol infusion for postoperative analgesia after elective hysterectomy.

Materials and Methods: The present prospective study was conducted on 50 patients who underwent elective hysterectomy in a tertiary care hospital. The patients were divided into two groups. Group A received paracetamol (PCM) infusion, while group B received tramadol infusion. The analgesic efficacy of both the drugs was assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at 15, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours. The side effects were noted and compared. The records of all the parameters were maintained as per patient proforma.

Results: Both the groups were comparable with respect to demographic profile, duration and route of surgery. The pvalues for the VAS score at 15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 6 hrs and 8 hrs were insignificant in both the groups. Although pain relief at two and four hours was better in patients of hysterectomy who received tramadol as compared to the patients who received paracetamol, additional analgesia was not required in most of the patients. The number of patients who experienced nauseavomiting (32%), sedation (20%) and headache (12%) were more in the tramadol group.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that PCM and tramadol has comparable analgesic effect. At the same time PCM has emerged as a safer analgesic in comparison to tramadol because of its fewer side effects.