[Analgesic effect of tramadol in patients with malignant diseases]

The new synthetic opioid Tramadol [1-(m-Methoxyphenyl)-2-(dimethylaminomethyl)-cyclohexane-1-ol] was examined in 30 patients with different malignant diseases. An excellent or sufficient pain relief could be found in 86%. Only 14% of all patients did not respond. The analgetic effect throughout the day could be observed in most cases (92%) after the application of maximally 200 mg/die. Optimal or moderate subjective tolerance was found in 95% of all cases. Fatigue (65.8%), dryness of the mouth (68.4%), dizziness (14.3%) and perspiration (12.2%) were the main side effects. For this reason Tramadol can be recommended as a highly useful analgesic drug in the treatment of tumor induced pain.