Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Assess whether patients with chronic pain receiving 80 to 220 mg oral morphine sulfate equivalent of a full Μ: -opioid agonist could be transitioned to buccal buprenorphine at approximately 50% of their full dose without inducing opioid withdrawal or sacrificing analgesic efficacy. ⋯ Chronic pain patients treated with around-the-clock full Μ: -opioid agonist therapy can be switched to buccal buprenorphine (a partial Μ: -opioid agonist) at approximately 50% of the full Μ: -opioid agonist dose without an increased risk of opioid withdrawal or loss of pain control.