Tramadol Use Increases Risk for Hypoglycemia Hospitalization

In recent years, tramadol use has increased substantially in primary care and emergency department settings, probably because it is a weak opioid analgesic that is perceived to be safer than traditional opioids. Observational studies and case reports suggest that clinically significant hypoglycemia can occur in the first few weeks after initiating tramadol.

In this case-control study, researchers used a U.K. community-practice database to identify all 1105 hospitalizations for severe hypoglycemia that occurred during a mean follow-up of 5 years among 28,110 new users of tramadol and 305,924 new users of codeine; all patients were receiving the drugs for noncancer pain. As many as 10 controls, matched on age, sex, and duration of follow-up, w…