High Dose Transdermal Buprenorphine for Moderate to Severe Pain in Spanish Pain Centres—A Retrospective Multicenter Safety and Efficacy Study

  1. Carlos Barutell PhD1,*,
  2. Alberto Camba PhD2,
  3. José-Ramón González-Escalada PhD3,
  4. Manuel Rodríguez PhD4,
  5. the Opioid Group of the Spanish Society for the Study of Pain1

Article first published online: 25 JUL 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1533-2500.2008.00205.x

Issue

Pain Practice

Pain Practice

Volume 8, Issue 5, pages 355–361, September/October 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Barutell, C., Camba, A., González-Escalada, J.-R., Rodríguez, M. and the Opioid Group of the Spanish Society for the Study of Pain (2008), High Dose Transdermal Buprenorphine for Moderate to Severe Pain in Spanish Pain Centres—A Retrospective Multicenter Safety and Efficacy Study. Pain Practice, 8: 355–361. doi: 10.1111/j.1533-2500.2008.00205.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Pain Unit, Vall d'Hebrón University Hospital, Barcelona;

  2. 2

    Department of Anesthesiology, Arquitecto Marcide Hospital, Coruña;

  3. 3

    Pain Unit. Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Madrid;

  4. 4

    Pain Treatment Unit, Carlos Haya Regional University Hospital, Málaga, Spain.

*Carlos Barutell, PhD, Vall d'Hebrón Hospital, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119–129, 08035 Barcelona. E-mail: cbarutell@affinet.net.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 SEP 2008
  2. Article first published online: 25 JUL 2008
  3. Submitted: November 26, 2007; Revision accepted: April 1, 2008

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Keywords:

  • transdermal buprenorphine;
  • high dose;
  • visual analog scale;
  • drug safety

▪ 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. ▪

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