Transdermal Buprenorphine for Treating Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain: Four Case Studies

In Brief The use of opioids for treating neuropathic pain is controversial, and some studies have indicated that neuropathic pain may be relatively insensitive to typical μ-opioid analgesics such as morphine. However, it is becoming clear that different opioids produce analgesia by affecting different pain pathways. We present two cases of neuropathic pain and two cases of nociceptive pain with a significant neuropathic component that were treated with transdermal buprenorphine. In each case, sufficient pain relief was obtained and no problems were encountered in switching from prior analgesic therapy with larger doses of other opioids. IMPLICATIONS: These are the first case reports from clinical practice demonstrating the successful use of the new transdermal formulation of buprenorphine for the treatment of neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain with significant neuropathic components.