Multimodal postoperative analgesia with transdermal buprenorphine is a safe option in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

Background: Arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs are associated with moderate-to-severe pain. Opioids are not the first line for postsurgical pain control due to their potential misuse and side effects. Transdermal buprenorphine represents an alternative for multimodal postoperative pain control. Methods: This was a single-centre, prospective longitudinal exploratory study of patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs managed with multimodal analgesia with transdermal buprenorphine. Patients were followed-up by telephone at eight time points, assessing pain levels, rescue analgesics requirement and side effects. Findings: Twenty-five patients with an average age of 63.4 ± 8.2 were included. Fourteen patients were ⩾65 years. Pain levels were similar among age groups at all time points, with no pain or mild pain (visual analogue scale 1–4) in most patients. The most frequent side effects were dizziness and somnolence. Conclusion: Transdermal buprenorphine provided a sustained analgesic effect after an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair during the acute postsurgical period. It showed a similar safety profile among younger and older patients.