Treatment of Withdrawal Symptoms and Prevention of Relapse in Patients With Tramadol Abuse

Tramadol abuse is a public health problem in Egypt. There are no approved medications for treatment of withdrawal symptoms or prevention of relapse in patients with tramadol abuse. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of venlafaxine and lofixidine in treating the withdrawal symptoms and to compare between venlafaxine and naltrexone in relapse prevention of tramadol abuse. Patients with tramadol abuse will be divided randomly to use venlafaxine or lofixidine after discontinuation of tramadol. The efficacy will be measured by the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale. The medications will be used for 10 days after discontinuation of tramadol. After the detoxification stage, patients who used venlafaxine will continue to use it while patients who used lofixidine will use naltrexone during the relapse prevention phase (2 months).