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Journal of Family Practice, April, 2005 by Stephen Patt,
Todd McDiarmid
To the editor:
The only thing missing from the well-intentioned tramadol
piece in JFP (McDiarmid T, Mackler L, Schneider DM, "Clinical
inquiries. What is the addiction risk associated with tramadol?"
J Fam Pract 2005; 54[1]:72-73) was a little common sense. The low
numbers they quoted on tramadol addiction and detoxification seem
paltry in comparison with illicit opiates (such as heroin) and diverted
opiates (such as OxyContin), but the numbers can be deceptive--reporting
agencies rarely know what's going on in the real world. In the treatment
arena we see staggering amounts of Ultracet and tramadol addiction,
with patients popping up to 30 or 40 pills daily to fill an ever-expanding
mureceptor void. Many of these fall into the addiction innocently
because, and I quote, "My doctor told me that these were safe!"
Far from it. The tramadol mu activity is considerable in the opiate-naive
patient, and even more so in the recovering opiate addict. The phenomenon
of "reinstatement," where any activity at the receptor
level triggers old drug-seeking behavior, is well documented, and
should be avoided at all costs, especially given the broad nonopiate
choices available to our patients in need, including the highly
effective neural modulators (such as Neurontin, Depakote, and Trazodone)
and NSAID/ COX-2 families. While any primary doc can step into the
waters of addiction medicine, some formal training may help avoid
potential disasters.
Cheap Generic Ultram (Tramadol) is available from this off-shore
pharmacy:
Tramadol If a patient merits relief from pain that is not handled by current
nonsteroidal and adjunctive modality therapy (lets not forget
TENS units, massage therapy, and acupuncture), then certainly
consider tramadol--but let's also consider the risks and warn
the patient accordingly. Monitor their usage periodically, and
don't give refills unless the patient is traveling out of the
area. And finally, if your patient is one of the millions of opiate
addicts seeking relief from bone-fide pain, do him and yourself
a favor--don't use an opiate unless absolutely necessary, having
exhausted all other measures. The risk of relapse is too great.
Lest we forget, "Above all, do no harm."
Stephen Patt, MD, Family Practice, Santa Monica, Calif
Dr McDiarmid responds:
I regret that Dr Patt did not appreciate the emphasis I hoped
to convey of the limitations on validity and generalizability
of the manufacturer-sponsored surveillance program's estimated
rates of tramadol abuse in a tramadol-exposed population. The
limitations mentioned in the Clinical inquiry included nonrandom
and nonrepresentative sampling methods, tramadol abuse likely
suppressed by presence of more potent euphoriant in the studied
addiction communities, and the low return rates of surveys from
substance abuse experts. Each of these biases could significantly
alter any attempts at estimating tramadol abuse rates in the general
tramadolexposed populations.
I appreciate Dr Patt sharing his experience with patients who
abuse large quantities of tramadol. There are case reports in
the literature describing similar patient behaviors. I would encourage
him to report such case experiences to the FDA's MedWatch program
so that what is a personal clinical experience can contribute
to the evidence of out collective knowledge.
FAST TRACK In the treatment arena we see staggering amounts of
Ultracet and tramadol addiction
Todd McDiarmid, MD, Moses Cone Health System, Department of Family
Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Greensboro
COPYRIGHT 2005 Dowden Health Media, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
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