title: Buprenorphine: revisiting the efficacy of transdermal delivery system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Buprenorphine is a lipid-soluble pharmaceutic used in the management of chronic pain. It is a partial agonist at μ-opioid receptors, an antagonist at κ-opioid receptors, an agonist at δ-opioid receptors and a partial agonist at ORL-1 (nociceptin) receptors.
  
  
  METHODS
  An extensive literature search, including Google Scholar and Pubmed database, was conducted. Terms including and associated to 'efficacy of transdermal buprenorphine' were utilized to procure contemporary research articles in order to evaluate and compare the transdermal buprenorphine patch to commonly used traditional pain management medications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Transdermal buprenorphine has demonstrated better efficacy than conventional pain management pharmacotherapies. Side effects were similar to those associated with other opioids and included headache, dizziness, somnolence, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, pruritus and erythema. Similar to transdermal delivery systems used with other medication, transdermal buprenorphine was associated with application-site pruritus and application-site reactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Transdermal buprenorphine has significant potential for managing chronic pain. In addition to increased convenience and efficacy, advantages of transdermal buprenorphine include decreased tolerance and decreased withdrawal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 5086 Graves Hall, 333 West Tenth Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kitzmiller
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Nathan S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Nicoleta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stoicea
authors.forename: Nawal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kamar
authors.forename: Jasmine A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Luzum
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mikulik
authors.forename: Sergio D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bergese
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D057968:Transdermal Patch
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D002047:Buprenorphine
keywords: BTDS; buprenorphine; chronic pain; opioids; transdermal