. 2020 Jun 20;70(4):419–428. doi: 10.1016/j.bjane.2020.06.009

Table 1.

Studies characteristics.

Author	Year	Surgical procedure	n	Buprenorphine doses	Form of administration	Control groups	Postoperative pain	Postoperative analgesic consumption	Drug-related side-effects	Patient satisfaction
Rivera-Ruiz et al.	2018	Abdominal hysterectomy	45	17.5 mcg h⁻¹	From 24 h before surgery until 24 h PO	Placebo	VAS score higher for placebo at rest and movement. No differences in buprenorphine groups	X	Increasing somnolence with higher buprenorphine doses. Conflicting results for PONV	X
				26.25 mcg h⁻¹
				35 mcg h⁻¹
Xu et al.	2018	Hallux-valgus surgery	90	10 mcg h⁻¹	From 2 days before surgery until POD5	Flurbiprofen 50 mg I.V twice a day and celecoxib 200 mg orally twice a day	VAS score lower for buprenorphine and flurbiprofen in POD 1 compared to celecoxib. No difference after POD 1	No difference in POD 1. On POD 2 and 3, buprenorphine and flurbiprofen groups had lower analgesic consumption	No significant differences	Higher satisfaction on buprenorphine group compared to both flurbiprofen and celecoxib
Desai et al.	2017	Hip surgery	50	10 mcg h⁻¹	From 1 day before surgery until POD 7	Tramadol 50 mg every 8 h	Pain at rest: no differences until 12 h PO but lower pain scores in buprenorphine group from 24 h PO to POD 7. Pain at movement: no differences until 24 h PO, but lower pain scores in buprenorphine group from POD 2 to 7	Lower total analgesic consumption in buprenorphine group during the 7-days follow-up	Higher PONV incidence in tramadol group	Higher satisfaction on buprenorphine group
Kim et al.	2017	Spinal fusion	69	5 mcg h⁻¹	From 36 h after surgery until POD 28	150-300 mg once a day controlled-release oral tramadol tablets	No differences in VAS score until POD 14	No differences in analgesic consumption until POD 14	No significant differences	X
				10 mcg h⁻¹
				15 mcg h⁻¹
				20 mcg h⁻¹
Niyogi et al.	2017	Spinal surgery	70	10 mcg h⁻¹	From 24 h before surgery until 48 h PO	Placebo	VAS score lower in Buprenorphine group from 0 h to 48 h PO	Time of to first rescue analgesia were higher in buprenorphine group; frequency of use and total analgesic use were lower in brupenorphine group until 48 h PO	No significant differences	X
Tang et al.	2017	Lumbar discectomy	96	5 mcg h⁻¹	From 2 days before surgery until POD 5	Parecoxib 40 mg I.V. twice a day and celecoxib 200 mg orally twice a day	Better analgesia in buprenorphine and parecoxib groups until POD 1. No differences in POD 3 and 5	No significant differences	No significant differences	Higher satisfaction on buprenorphine group compared to both parecoxib and celecoxib
Kumar et al.	2016	Elective abdominal surgery	90	10 mcg h⁻¹	From night before surgery until POD 7	Placebo	VAS score placebo group > buprenorphine 10 mg > buprenorphine 20 mg from end of surgery until POD 7	Analgesic requirements on placebo group > buprenorphine 10 mg > buprenorphine 20 mg in the first 48 h PO. At POD 4, analgesic requirement was higher in placebo group but similar in both buprenorphine groups	Sedation scores with buprenorphine 20 mg > buprenorphine 10 mg > placebo until 12 h PO	X
				20 mcg h⁻¹
Arshad et al.	2015	Major abdominal surgery	60	10 mcg h⁻¹	From 6 h before surgery until POD 3	Transdermal fentanyl 25 mcg h⁻¹	Higher VAS score in Buprenorphine groups in POD 1, 2 and 3	No significant differences	Higher sedation scores in buprenorphine groups in POD 1, 2 and 3	X
Setti et al.	2012	Open hysterectomy, myomectomy	45	17,5 mcg h⁻¹	From 12 h before surgery until 72 h PO	X	No significant differences	Analgesic requirements inversely proportional to buprenorphine dosage until 72 h PO	No significant differences	No significant differences
				35 mcg h⁻¹
				52,5 mcg h⁻¹

Summary of studies included in the systematic review. PO, Postoperative; VAS, Visual Analog Scale; PONV, Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting; POD, Postoperative Day; IV, Intravenous.