Comparison between preemptive and postoperative intraarticular injection of tramadol on pain sensation after arthroscopy

220 patients assigned for therapeutic knee arthroscopy were divided into four equal groups in this prospective comparative study. All patients received IAI of 20 ml (0.5%) levopubivacaine alone in Group C; with 100 mg tramadol as PE (Group PE), at end of surgery (Group PO) or divided as 50 mg tramadol + 20 ml 0.25 % levobupivacaine as PE and 50 mg trmadol + 20 ml 0.25 % levobupivacaine as PO (Group PE/PO). Numeric rating scale (NRS) was used to assess pain sensation. Duration till request of rescue analgesia and number of requests were recorded. Patients' satisfaction concerning efficacy of PO analgesia was assessed using Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient physical status according to American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) classes I-II
• Patients free of general diseases prohibiting the use of local anesthesia.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients had allergy for local anesthetics or to tramadol
• Patients have psychological or neurological disorders inducing difficulty for evaluation of pain scoring.