Buprenorphine and Chronic Non-cancer Pain

Anesthesiologists and pain specialists are growing keen on approaches to chronic pain that mitigate the devastating effects of the opioid crisis. Readers will be interested to find the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis by Wong and colleagues1 in this issue of the Journal. Fourteen randomized controlled trials were reviewed for the efficacy of buprenorphine in treating chronic, non-cancer pain. This mixed agonist-antagonist shows potential given the reduced pain scores observed when compared to placebo. In addition, there appeared to be no difference when evaluated against other analgesics. This is promising given that buprenorphine has a ceiling effect for respiratory depression and euphoria that limits these harmful side effects. The reader is strongly encouraged to review the cited article for an in-depth understanding of the concepts summarized in this infographic.