Autonomic dysreflexia: Atypical complication from immediate release Tapentadol

Neurological disorders are a ubiquitous part of our lives, and with innovative technological advancements there are increasing numbers of people being diagnosed with a variety of conditions. While these advances uncover the underlying pathological pro-cess, the requisite need to manage a patient’s condition necessitates renewed vigour in the realm of key therapeutics. This case study looks at a patient with a rare neurological condition, transverse myelitis (TM), and a complication that many spinal cord injury patients suffer, autonomic dysreflexia (AD). However, what makes this case unique is when the patient was administered with immediate-release Tapentadol, a synthetic opioid, the patient suffered more frequent and prolonged attacks of AD. The ex-ploration of the functional anatomy of TM as it applies to this case is highlighted, and how the role of Tapentadol was a causative agent in increasing the patient’s AD.