Pharmacology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Co-administration of ondansetron decreases the analgesic efficacy of tramadol in humans.
Tramadol, a central analgesic acting on serotonin neurotransmission, is often co-used with ondansetron, a 5-HT(3) antagonist, for the management of postoperative pain to decrease nausea and vomiting. The aim of the study is to test the hypothesis that this drug combination raises tramadol requirement by patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). ⋯ Tramadol consumption (mg × kg(-1) × h(-1)) was higher in the ondansetron group at the 2-hour time point compared to the control group (0.24 ± 0.1 vs. 0.17 ± 0.16; p = 0.01). Our study suggests that ondansetron acutely reduces the analgesic efficacy of tramadol.