Catatonia associated with coadministration of tramadol and meperidine

Tramadol and meperidine are frequently prescribed medications in the management of oncologic patients. The pharmacologic interaction of these two drugs may induce mental disturbance. This was demonstrated by our case of a 39-year-old woman with gastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma), stage III after chemotherapy. She was admitted to our medical ward with the complaint of abdominal pain. Pantoprazole 40 mg and tramadol 150 mg daily were prescribed with intravenous route after hospitalization. Two days later, the patient developed transient visual hallucinations and disorientation after additional injection of meperidine (25 mg). Six hours later, catatonic features appeared. The duty doctor stopped all the medications. Two days later, the catatonic features disappeared. From the clinical course, we suggest that the catatonia was caused by drug interactions between tramadol and meperidine. The pharmacodynamic mechanism might be related to the dopamine and serotonin systems.