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High Dose Transdermal Buprenorphine for Moderate to Severe Pain in Spanish Pain Centres—A Retrospective Multicenter Safety and Efficacy Study
Author(s) -
Barutell Carlos,
Camba Alberto,
GonzálezEscalada JoséRamón,
Rodríguez Manuel
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1533-2500.2008.00205.x
Subject(s) - medicine , tramadol , buprenorphine , visual analogue scale , adverse effect , incidence (geometry) , retrospective cohort study , transdermal patch , anesthesia , transdermal , analgesic , surgery , opioid , physics , receptor , optics , pharmacology
▪ Abstract Obectives: To assess the effectiveness of transdermal buprenorphine in patients suffering from moderate to severe pain. Secondary objectives included gathering information about the causes of pain, management of episodic pain, and the safety profile. Methods: Retrospective data were collected from 1,465 patients with moderate to severe pain, ie, ≥50 mm on a 0 to 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS), that were switched to transdermal buprenorphine, and received a dose ≥52.5 μg/hour for at least 14 days during the previous 12 months. Pain could have any etiology. Most patients (72.1%) were on tramadol and/or paracetamol (40.7%) before switching to buprenorphine. Using case report forms, efficacy was determined from changes in VAS score compared with 24 hours prior to the first patch application. Safety was evaluated by retrieving information about the nature and incidence of adverse events (AE), whether they were related to the study compound, and the percentage considered being serious. Results: An absolute reduction of 25.1 points in VAS score was seen over a median period of 3.7 months treatment. In addition, the VAS score was reduced by at least 10% in 88.4% of patients and the incidence of episodic pain fell significantly. Treatment was rated as “Good” or “Very Good” by 82.5% of patients. Out of 1,465 patients, 50.2% experienced an AE; this was related to the drug in 48.8%, and considered serious in 4.0%. Conclusions: Transdermal buprenorphine was an effective and considerably safe drug for relieving chronic moderate to severe pain. ▪