Transdermal Buprenorphine Patches for Postoperative Pain Control in Abdominal Surgery

Efficacy of Transdermal Ketoprofen Patch in Comparison to Transdermal Diclofenac Patch in Postoperative Analgesia for Orthodontic Extractions: A Randomized Split-Mouth Study

Introduction Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most prescribed analgesics for controlling post-exodontia pain, administered by various routes. The transdermal route possesses the advantages of providing sustained release of the drug, being non-invasive, bypassing first-pass metabolism, and eliminating gastrointestinal adverse effects. This study compared the analgesic efficacy of diclofenac 200 mg and ketoprofen 30 mg transdermal patches for post-orthodontic exodontia pain. Materials and methods Thirty patients who underwent orthodontic bilateral maxillary and/or mandibular premolar extractions under local anaesthesia were included in the study. Each patient received single transdermal diclofenac 200 mg patch and single transdermal ketoprofen 30 mg patch on the outer, ipsilateral upper arm immediately post-extraction in the two appointments in random order. The pain score was recorded every second hourly for the first 24 hours postoperatively using a visual analog scale (VAS). The requirement of rescue analgesics at various time points and the total number of rescue analgesics taken in the first 24 hours postoperatively were noted. Any allergic reaction to the transdermal patches was also recorded. Results The analgesic efficacy of the two transdermal patches at any given time point in 24 hours by Mann-Whitney U test showed no statistically significant (p<0.05) difference. An overall intragroup statistically significant difference (p<0.05), by Wilcoxon matched pairs test, was found by comparison of VAS pain scores at different time points to that at 0-2 hours after application of transdermal ketoprofen and diclofenac patches, respectively. The mean maximum pain intensity was slightly lower for ketoprofen (2.33) than diclofenac (2.60) transdermal patch. Patients consumed the rescue analgesic within the first 12 hours postoperatively, with the mean value of the total number of rescue analgesics taken with ketoprofen transdermal patch (0.23) slightly lower than diclofenac transdermal patch (0.27) application. Conclusion Ketoprofen and diclofenac transdermal patches provide similar analgesia post orthodontic extraction. The patients required rescue analgesics only during the initial hours of the postoperative follow-up period.

Safety And Efficacy Of The Unique Opioid Buprenorphine For The Treatment Of Chronic Pain

BACKGROUND

Chronic pain is associated with decreased quality of life and is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care, making treatment imperative for many aspects of patient well-being. Chronic pain management typically involves the use of Schedule II full μ-opioid receptor agonists for pain relief; however, the increasing prevalence of opioid addiction is a national crisis that is impacting public health and social and economic welfare. Buprenorphine is a Schedule III partial μ-opioid receptor agonist that is an equally effective but potentially safer treatment option for chronic pain than full μ-opioid receptor agonists. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the clinical efficacy and safety of the transdermal and buccal formulations of buprenorphine, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for chronic pain, compared with that of extended-release full μ-opioid receptor agonists.

METHODS

Controlled or randomized controlled clinical trial information was retrieved from EMBASE, Medline, and PubMed using the search terms "buprenorphine" AND "chronic" AND "pain."

RESULTS

A total of 33 clinical studies were ultimately used in this review, including 29 (88%) on transdermal buprenorphine and 4 (12%) on buprenorphine buccal film. Although the measure of pain intensity varied among studies, each of these 33 trials demonstrated efficacy for buprenorphine in pain relief. A total of 28 studies also assessed safety, with each concluding that buprenorphine was generally well tolerated.

CONCLUSION

Comparison of current clinical data along with results of responder and safety analyses support the use of buprenorphine over full μ-opioid receptor agonists for effective preferential treatment of chronic pain; however, head-to-head clinical studies are warranted.

Efficacy of transdermal buprenorphine patch on post-operative pain relief after elective spinal instrumentation surgery

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Transdermal buprenorphine patch (TDB) is increasingly used for chronic pain management because of non-invasive dosing, longer duration of action and minimal side effects. However its role in acute post-operative pain management for spinal instrumentation surgery is not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of buprenorphine patch for postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing spinal instrumentation surgery.

METHODS

In this randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, prospective study, 70 adult patients undergoing elective spinal instrumentation surgery were randomly allocated into two groups-TDB Group (buprenorphinepatch) and TDP Group (placebo patch). Time to first rescue analgesic requirement was the primary outcome. All patients also were monitored for total rescue analgesic requirement, drug-related adverse effect and haemodynamic status till 48 h after surgery. Statistical analysis was carried out using student independent t-test if normally distributed or with Mann-Whitney U-test if otherwise.

RESULTS

Time to first post-operative rescue analgesic (tramadol) requirement was much delayed in TDB Group than TDP Group (708.0 ± 6.98 min vs 54 ± 0.68 min, P < 0.001) and the total tramadol requirement was higher in TDB Group (490.60 ± 63.09 averagevs. 162.93 ± 63.91 mg, P < 0.001). Intra-and post-operative haemodynamic status was also stable in TDB Group without any adverse event.

CONCLUSION

A TDB patch (10 μg/hour) applied 24 hours before surgery can be used as a postoperative analgesic for lumber fixation surgery without any drug-related adverse effect.

Comparative study of the efficacy of transdermal buprenorphine patches and prolonged-release tramadol tablets for postoperative pain control after spinal fusion surgery: a prospective, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial

PURPOSE

To compare the efficacy of a transdermal buprenorphine patch (5, 10, 15, and 20 μg/h) with that of oral tramadol (150, 200, 250, and 300 mg) for postoperative pain control after single level spinal fusion surgery.

METHODS

The present study (ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02416804) was a prospective, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial designed to determine the efficacy of buprenorphine TDS for alleviating postoperative pain following patient controlled analgesia (PCA) in persons underwent a single level posterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery through 1:1 allocation. The primary outcome was the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) score for postoperative back pain at 7 days after surgery. The non-inferior margin of the VAS was set at δ = 1.5 points.

RESULTS

The VAS score (primary outcome) for postoperative back pain at 7 days after surgery in the Buprenorphine group was not inferior compared to the Tramadol group. The overall changes in VAS scores for postoperative pain during follow-up assessments over a 2-week period did not differ between both groups. However, the VAS scores for postoperative pain significantly improved with time after surgery in both groups. The patterns of changes in the VAS scores for postoperative pain during the follow-up period were not significantly different between the both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of buprenorphine TDS was not inferior to that of oral tramadol medication for alleviating postoperative pain in the subacute period from 72 h after surgery, following PCA administration. In addition, adverse events were similar between both groups.