Buprenorphine has a longer duration of action than morphine and has an effect sublingually for 6-8 hours. It is, however, less effective than morphine and needs a high concentration to achieve a reasonable degree of analgesia.

There is a high incidence of vomiting, and because it has both agonist and antagonist properties, it can precipitate withdrawal symptoms, including pain, in patients dependent on other opioids. The high affinity of buprenorphine for one type or opioid receptor site (mu) renders its effects only partially reversible by naloxone. Buprenorphine is available as a transdermal patch, and is a useful alternative to fentanyl patches

Transdermal buprenorphine (TDB) provides effective pain relief with an acceptable tolerability profile over the 11-week treatment period in Asian patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. More studies are needed to examine the long-term efficacy and safety of TBD treatment in this patient population ¹⁾.