Although some retrospective case studies suggest that patients using fentanyl who are administered buprenorphine are at risk for precipitated opioid withdrawal (PW), data from an ongoing clinical trial indicate that the risk for PW in these patients is low.
“Buprenorphine is safe and effective in emergency department settings,” study researcher Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Conn., told Pain Medicine News.