Tramadol overdose: review of the literature

Abstract

In France, like in several other European countries, dextroproxyphene has been banned from the market in 2011. Consequently, a significant increase in tramadol prescriptions as well as a significant increase in tramadol overdoses and poisonings could be expected. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid responsible for numerous adverse effects in case of overdose, including life-threatening ones such as loss of consciousness, seizures, serotonin syndrome, and more rarely hypotension and cardiovascular failure. Such complications have been reported in Iran, where tramadol is largely abused among opioid-dependent drug users. Thus, a strict toxicological surveillance should be developed in France to prevent a possible increase in tramadol-related morbidity and fatalities among acute poisoned patients, as reported in Iran.