Opioid detoxification via single 7-day application of a buprenorphine transdermal patch: an open-label evaluation

Abstract

This study confirms that transdermal buprenorphine is safe and clinically effective, and suggests that a 7-day application may provide an effective and comfortable means of detoxification. This patch formulation would appear to be a useful opioid detoxification treatment by reducing compliance concerns, and administering buprenorphine in a formulation less likely to be diverted to illicit use.

Buprenorphine and Buprenorphine/Naloxone Diversion, Misuse, and Illicit Use: An International Review

“…Recent studies have shown that transdermal buprenorphine is safe, well-tolerated, and clinically effective for heroin detoxification, suggesting that a 7-day application of transdermal buprenorphine may be an effective mode of opioid detoxification [135, 136]. …”

Predictors of outcome after short-term stabilization with buprenorphine

“…It is likely that the use of buprenorphine in short-term treatment or detoxification will increase, as problems with prescription opioid and heroin abuse grow nationwide. Although some studies outline parameters for the use of buprenorphine in opiate-substitution or long-term maintenance treatment (Ling et al, 1998; 2005), few studies have addressed optimal practices in the use of buprenorphine for short-term treatment or detoxification purposes (Lanier, Umbricht, Harrison, Nuwayser, & Bigelow, 2008). …”

“…Detoxification regimes typically range from short 3–14 day inpatient hospitalizations (Berman, Kallmen, Barredal, & Lindqvist, 2007; Lanier et al, 2008), to combined stabilization/detoxification trials (Sigmon et al, 2009). In a recent pilot study of detoxification for prescription opioid dependence, Sigmon and colleagues (2009) examined abstinence at the end of a brief stabilization (mean = 12 days) and a 2-week taper trial in 12 study participants.…”

The Use of Transdermal Therapeutic Systems in Psychiatric Care: A Primer on Patches

“…20 Two small, open-label trials explored the application of the buprenorphine patch for the purpose of opioid detoxification: one in which the participants wore the patch for only 3 days 21 and one in which the participants wore the patch for the full 7 days. 22 Both studies indicated that the patch appears to be safe and effective for the purpose of suppressing opioid withdrawal symptoms; however, the longer-term application appeared to be more comfortable and successful in this regard. Buprenorphine, due to its partial agonist action, is thought to have a limited effect on respiratory drive, unlike morphine and fentanyl (which both have been shown to have no ceiling for analgesia but also to induce severe respiratory depression at higher doses).…”