Seizures after intravenous tramadol given as premedication

Abstract

A 35-year-old, 50-kg female with a history of epilepsy was scheduled for elective breast surgery (fibroadenoma) under general anaesthesia. She was given glycopyrrolate 0.2 mg, ondansetron 4 mg and tramadol 100 mg i.v. as premedication. Within 5 min, she had an acute episode of generalised tonic-clonic seizure that was successfully treated with 75 mg thiopentone i.v. and after 30 min, she was given general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Surgery, intra-operative period, extubation and post-operative period were uneventful. We conclude that tramadol may provoke seizures in patients with epilepsy even within the recommended dose range.

Keywords

• Seizures
• serotonin syndrome
• tramadol
• tramadol-induced seizures