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Tramadol is an Opioid.
J Med Toxicol. 2008 Jun;4(2):145
Authors: Katz KD
Bosse et al. incorrectly described tramadol as "a non-opioid analgesic". Tramadol is an oral analgesic, which stems from both norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibition and direct micro-receptor agonism. In fact, metabolism by CYP3A4 yields the active metabolite, N-desmethyltramadol, which demonstrates greater micro-opioid receptor affinity than tramadol itself. The reason why this should be clarified is the misconception that tramadol is not an opioid, and, therefore, can be administered without concern for toxicity or abuse compared to other opiates or opioids. Admittedly, the incidence of abuse is relatively low but it is not nonexistent.
PMID: 18570178 [PubMed - in process]
(Source: Journal of Medical Toxicology)