Does Opioid Pain Killer Tramadol Raise Hip Fracture Risk?

Pain killer tramadol raises the risk of hip fractures more compared to other pain medications, according to an analysis done basing on patient's database from the United Kingdom, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

The analysis, which is published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, compared tramadol use with codeine, naproxen, ibuprofen, celecoxib, and etoricoxib use among adults aged 50 years or older.

‘Hip fractures raise morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. So, there is need to consider tramadol prescription clinical practice and treatment guidelines.’

During one-year follow-up, 518 hip fractures occurred among 146,956 patients taking tramadol, corresponding to approximately one additional new hip fracture per 1000 person-years relative to taking codeine (3.7 vs. 2.9, respectively).

Likewise, up to 1.5 additional new fractures per 1000 person-years occurred with tramadol than with naproxen, ibuprofen, celecoxib, and etoricoxib.

"Considering the significant impact of hip fracture on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, our results point to the need to consider tramadol's associated risk of fracture in clinical practice and treatment guidelines," said corresponding author Guanghua Lei, MD, PhD, of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University.

Source: Eurekalert