ABSTRACT
Tramadol is a synthetic, centrally acting opioid analgesic that has the best analgesic efficacy without excessive sedation and significant side effects in the postoperative pain relief in dogs. In this study, hematological and biochemical changes due to short usage of tramadol were assessed in clinically healthy dogs. For this purpose, eighteen male mongrel dogs aged 14 to 22 months were used in three equal groups. In the first and second groups respectively [2 and 5 mg/kg] intramuscular tramadol and in control group distillate water was given once a day for five consecutive days. Complete cell blood count [CBC] and biochemical evaluation were done to measure aspartate amino-transferase [AST], alanine aminotransferase [ALT], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], creatinin [Cr], and blood urea nitrogen [BUN] levels, before the intervention [day 0] and on days 6 and 13, post-treatment. Thirteen days post treatment, Red blood cell [RBC] and white blood cell [WBC] count and ALT, AST, ALP, Cr, BUN and packed cell volume [PCV] level was measured as 6.75 +/- 0.03, 3.86 +/- 0.13, 40.00 +/- 7.98, 43.67 +/- 8.62, 57.00 +/- 17.03, 0.90 +/- 0.27, 25.00 +/- 5.48 and 40.13 +/- 2.88 respectively which showed that short-term injection of even high doses of tramadol creates no significant change on hematological, liver, and kidney parameters in dogs. The present study suggests that tramadol could be a safe postoperative analgesic for control of acute pain in dogs referred for routine surgical procedures