Patel Kishan V, Sahni Sidharth, Taylor Lanvin F
Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, USA.
Neuro Musculoskeletal Institute, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, USA.
J Osteopath Med. 2022 Oct 25;123(1):1-5. doi: 10.1515/jom-2022-0075. eCollection 2023 Jan 1.
Buprenorphine is a partial mu opioid agonist that has been increasingly utilized to treat patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD). The drug has proven to provide significant chronic pain relief at low doses ranging from 75 to 1800 mcg. The conventional buprenorphine transitional process delays its introduction until patients begin withdrawal. However, this process can pose a barrier to both patients and providers due to some patients' inability to tolerate traditional prerequisite withdrawal. To our knowledge, this is a rare reported case to describe a transitional process utilizing buccal buprenorphine in which a patient with chronic pain simultaneously tapered completely off an extended-release (ER) full opioid agonist and uptitrated buprenorphine. The patient was weaned from oxycodone ER 30 mg every 12 h and oxycodone/acetaminophen 10/325 mg 3x/day for breakthrough pain utilizing an unconventional approach. Tapering down to oxycodone ER 20 mg 2x/day for the first 2 weeks was successful. However, reducing to oxycodone ER 10 mg 2x/day for the following 2 weeks presented adherence difficulty and increased breakthrough pain. At this time, buccal buprenorphine was added at 300 mcg daily for 3 days. From days 4 to 6, buprenorphine was increased to 300 mcg 2x/day and oxycodone ER decreased to 10 mg daily. Six days later, oxycodone ER was discontinued and oxycodone/acetaminophen continued as needed. The patient exhibited no signs of withdrawal and adequate relief of symptoms through this tapering process. At the 1-month follow-up, the patient was doing well and was being treated solely with buprenorphine and oxycodone/acetaminophen to control her breakthrough pain. After 5 months, buprenorphine was increased to 600 mcg 2x/day and her oxycodone/acetaminophen decreased to 5/325 mg 3x/day as needed. From the start of the patient's taper to her current transition, the patient reduced her morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dosage from 135 MME to 22.5 MME. The Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS), which measures the severity of a patient's opioid withdrawal symptoms, was consistently less than 5. This buprenorphine schedule demonstrated a successful tapering approach for this patient because she had reported improved quality of life and function. A patient-centered osteopathic treatment approach was utilized when the patient presented with mid-taper adherence difficulty. Transitioning patients from full to partial opioid agonists could become an important practice standard for patient safety not only for formal pain management practices but also in primary care, family practice, and even geriatric offices.
丁丙诺啡是一种μ阿片受体部分激动剂,已越来越多地用于治疗慢性疼痛患者和阿片类药物使用障碍(OUD)患者。事实证明,该药物在75至1800微克的低剂量范围内可显著缓解慢性疼痛。传统的丁丙诺啡过渡过程会延迟其使用,直到患者开始戒断。然而,由于一些患者无法耐受传统的前提性戒断,这个过程可能会给患者和医护人员都带来障碍。据我们所知,这是一例罕见的报告病例,描述了使用丁丙诺啡颊片的过渡过程,其中一名慢性疼痛患者同时完全停用了缓释(ER)全阿片激动剂并滴定增加了丁丙诺啡的剂量。患者采用非常规方法,从每12小时服用30毫克羟考酮缓释片和每日3次服用10/325毫克羟考酮/对乙酰氨基酚用于缓解爆发性疼痛中逐渐减量。在最初2周成功减至每日2次服用20毫克羟考酮缓释片。然而,在接下来的2周减至每日2次服用10毫克羟考酮缓释片时出现了依从性困难且爆发性疼痛增加。此时,添加了每日300微克的丁丙诺啡颊片,持续3天。从第4天到第6天,丁丙诺啡增加至每日2次,每次300微克,羟考酮缓释片减至每日10毫克。6天后,停用羟考酮缓释片,按需继续服用羟考酮/对乙酰氨基酚。通过这个逐渐减量过程,患者没有出现戒断症状,症状得到了充分缓解。在1个月的随访中,患者情况良好,仅用丁丙诺啡和羟考酮/对乙酰氨基酚治疗以控制其爆发性疼痛。5个月后,丁丙诺啡增加至每日2次,每次600微克,她的羟考酮/对乙酰氨基酚按需减至每日3次,每次5/325毫克。从患者开始减量到当前的过渡阶段,患者将其吗啡毫克当量(MME)剂量从135 MME降至22.5 MME。测量患者阿片类药物戒断症状严重程度的临床阿片戒断量表(COWS)始终低于5分。这种丁丙诺啡给药方案对该患者展示了一种成功的逐渐减量方法,因为她报告生活质量和功能有所改善。当患者在减量过程中出现依从性困难时,采用了以患者为中心的整骨疗法。将患者从全阿片激动剂过渡到部分阿片激动剂不仅对于正式的疼痛管理实践,而且对于初级保健、家庭医疗甚至老年科诊所而言,都可能成为保障患者安全的一项重要实践标准。
Subst Use Addctn J. 2024-10