Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain: A Safer Alternative to Traditional Opioids

Suhani Dalal; Ahish Chitneni; Amnon A Berger; Vwaire Orhurhu; Bilal Dar; Bennett Kramer; Anvinh Nguyen; John Pruit; Charles Halsted; Alan D Kaye; Jamal Hasoon

doi:10.52965/001c.27241

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain: A Safer Alternative to Traditional Opioids

Health Psychol Res. 2021 Aug 6;9(1):27241. doi: 10.52965/001c.27241. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Suhani Dalal¹, Ahish Chitneni¹, Amnon A Berger², Vwaire Orhurhu³, Bilal Dar⁴, Bennett Kramer⁵, Anvinh Nguyen⁶, John Pruit⁶, Charles Halsted⁶, Alan D Kaye⁷, Jamal Hasoon⁸

Affiliations

¹ A.T. Still University School of Medicine.
² Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.
³ University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
⁴ Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
⁶ Baylor College of Medicine.
⁷ Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
⁸ Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School; Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine.

Abstract

With the ongoing public health crisis with prescription opioids, there is a need for safer alternatives for medication management in chronic pain patients. Buprenorphine is a partial mu-opioid agonist which is commonly utilized to treat patients with opioid-use disorders. The purpose of this review is to discuss the potential use of this medication for the treatment of chronic pain instead of resorting to more traditional Schedule II opioids. Buprenorphine offers a safer alternative for patients who require opioids to manage chronic pain, given the unique pharmacological properties that allow it to provide adequate analgesia with less abuse potential.

Keywords: analgesics; buprenorphine; chronic pain; opioids.

Publication types

Review