Tramadol use in pediatric sickle cell disease patients with vaso-occlusive crisis

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

	Morphine	Morphine + tramadol
Sample size	18	12
Age (yr), Mean (range)	11.5 (3-20)	13.4 (7-20)
Gender
Male	9	6
Female	9	6
Weight (kg), mean (range)	38.7 (11.6-77.4)	52 (27.0-77.4)a
Hemoglobin (mg/dL), mean (range)	9.0 (6.0- 11.9)	9.4 (6.5-12.0)

^aP < 0.05 vs morphine.

Table 2 Independent admissions statistical analysis

	Morphine (n = 18)	Morphine + tramadol (n = 12)	P-value1
Morphine requirement (mg/kg per day), mean ± SD	0.65 ± 0.35	0.58 ± 0.48	0.31
Pain score, median (range)	5 (0-8)	6.75 (3-9)	0.07
PCA duration (d), median (range)	4.5 (0-13)	5 (3-14)	0.33
LOS (d), median (range)	7 (4-14)	7.5 (3-17)	0.85
Respiratory rate, mean (range)	21 (14-29)	19 (16-23)	0.28
Polyethylene glycol dose (gm/kg per day), mean (range)	0.6 (0-1.66)	0.5 (0-1.12)	0.64

¹P-value calculated using Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. PCA: Patient-controlled analgesia; LOS: Length of stay.

Table 3 Paired admissions statistical analysis (n = 7)

	Morphine	Morphine + tramadol	P-value1
Morphine requirement (mg/kg per day), mean ± SD	0.77 ± 0.44	0.71 ± 0.57	0.50
Pain score, median (range)	5.5 (2-8)	6.5 (3-8)	0.27
PCA duration (d), median (range)	6 (4-13)	7 (3-10)	0.35
LOS (d), median (range)	7 (5-14)	9 (3-12)	0.61
Respiratory rate, mean (range)	19 (14-20)	19 (17-23)	0.87
Polyethylene glycol dose (gm/kg per day), mean (range)	0.55 (0.28-1.1)	0.41 (0.28-0.98)	0.67

¹P-value calculated using Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. PCA: Patient-controlled analgesia; LOS: Length of stay.