1*Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, Symbiosis Medical college for women Symbiosis International (deemed) University, Lavale, Pune
2Department of Anaesthesiology, Symbiosis Medical college for women Symbiosis International (deemed) University, Lavale, Pune
Background: Even with the development of several different methods for the control of postoperative pain, achieving adequate postoperative pain management continues to be a significant clinical problem for many healthcare professionals due to common complications associated with traditional methods of opioid administration, either orally or via IV route. These traditional methods of opioid administration frequently produce variable serum levels of narcotic medication, increasing the chances of experiencing adverse events, requiring multiple doses of medication, and possibly enabling abuse of narcotics after discharge from the hospital. The availability of transdermal opioid administration devices should provide a solution to the above issues by allowing for continuous, constant release of such medications into the bloodstream and maintaining stable serum levels; however, the effectiveness and safety of these devices for the management of acute postoperative pain is not well documented by published clinical studies.
Objective: To assess the safety and pain relieving potential of transdermal opioids through patches on patients recovering from surgery and to determine the amount of rescue medication needed by these patients and how well they tolerated these types of medications.
Methods: In this study, performed over two months at a single site within a tertiary hospital, we enrolled thirty patients that were post-operative, all required opioid based pain management and met our set inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients proceeded either with Transdermal buprenorphine 5 mg or 10 mg patch, or fentanyl patch, depending on clinician discretion, to manage each patient's level of pain. To assess pain intensity, the Numeric Rating Scale was used three times daily for 7 days. We documented the number of patients that used recreational, number of patients who experienced adverse effects, and the patients' vital signs. Descriptive statistics for the data listed above were generated, and paired t-tests were performed to compare mean pain scores, along with chi-squared tests for trends in usage of recreational drugs.
Results: Mean pain score on Day 1 was 4.1 ± SD vs 0.4 ± SD on Day 7. This difference is statistically significant (p < 0.001). The percentage of patients who needed analgesics drugs medications decreased from 93.3% on Day 1 to 3.3% on Day 7 (p < 0.005). Most patients received buprenorphine 5 mg patches (66.7% of patients). Approximately 53.3% of patients responded that they did not experience any adverse medication effects, while the remainder experienced mild adverse effects such as nausea (16.7% of patients), limb edema (13.3% of patients), and local skin irritation (10% of patient). There were no reported cases of respiratory depression or serious complications due to opioids.
Conclusion: Transdermal opioid patches have proven effective in alleviating pain after surgery and are easy to use. In addition, because patients obtaining pain relief were less likely to require additional medications, a long-term decrease in their level of pain may be a reason they could be considered a safe alternative for postoperative care regarding the use of traditional opioid medications by some patients.
Keywords: Postoperative pain; Transdermal opioid patches; Buprenorphine; Fentanyl; Analgesic efficacy; recreational drugs; Opioid safety; Prospective observational study
How to cite this article: Dr Archana Gautam | Safety and Efficacy of Transdermal Opioid Patches in Postoperative Pain Management: A Prospective Observational Study| Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(5s): 875-882. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.5s.106
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None