Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 6;9(1):27241.
doi: 10.52965/001c.27241. eCollection 2021.

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain: A Safer Alternative to Traditional Opioids

Suhani Dalal  1 , Ahish Chitneni  1 , Amnon A Berger  2 , Vwaire Orhurhu  3 , Bilal Dar  4 , Bennett Kramer  5 , Anvinh Nguyen  6 , John Pruit  6 , Charles Halsted  6 , Alan D Kaye  7 , Jamal Hasoon  8
Affiliations
Review

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain: A Safer Alternative to Traditional Opioids

Suhani Dalal et al. Health Psychol Res. .

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. 1. Dahlhamer J, Lucas J, Zelaya, C, et al. Prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain among adults—United States, 2016. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(36):1001-1006. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6736a2 - PMC - PubMed
    1. 2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 18-5068, NSDUH Series H-53).; 2018. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2017-nsduh-annual-national-report
    1. 3. Rosenblum A, Marsch LA, Joseph H, Portenoy RK. Opioids and the treatment of chronic pain: Controversies, current status, and future directions. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2008;16(5):405-416. doi:10.1037/a0013628 - PMC - PubMed
    1. 4. Sun EC, Dixit A, Humphreys K, Darnall BD, Baker LC, Mackey S. Association between concurrent use of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines and overdose: retrospective analysis. BMJ. 2017;356. doi:10.1136/bmj.j760 - PMC - PubMed
    1. 5. Gudin J, Fudin J. A Narrative Pharmacological Review of Buprenorphine: A Unique Opioid for the Treatment of Chronic Pain. Pain Ther. 2020;9(1):41-54. doi:10.1007/s40122-019-00143-6 - PMC - PubMed