ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03266445Updated Oct 9, 2018

Effect of Buprenorphine/Naloxone Continuation on Pain Control and Opioid Use

A Phase 4 interventional study of buprenorphine/naloxone in Opioid-use Disorder, Pain, Acute and Surgery, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Status unknown. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-10-09.

Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Oct 2018), so the status shown — last known as Not yet recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
76
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of continuation of buprenorphine/naloxone in patients with history of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) scheduled for surgery compared to reduced dose buprenorphine/naloxone prior to surgery on pain scores, opioid consumption, depressive symptoms and severity of substance use dependence- including record of problematic use of any non-prescribed opioids, alcohol and illicit narcotics.

Read the detailed description

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is characterized by non-remitting cycles of remission and opioid abuse relapse. It is associated with a high rate of psychiatric and physical co-morbidity when left untreated. Buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone are effective opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) for OUD, however, treatment of acute post-surgical pain in patients taking buprenorphine is perceived to be challenging. Although not substantiated in clinical studies, the combination of high receptor binding affinity, long half-life, and partial mu opioid receptor agonism with buprenorphine/naloxone are thought to inhibit the analgesic actions of full mu opioid receptor agonists, potentially making standard postoperative pain control strategies less effective. There is no evidence based standard of care for optimal acute pain management strategies for patients taking buprenorphine and most recommendations are based upon provider opinion- occasionally conflicting along specialty lines. Some providers, mainly consisting of surgeons and anesthesiologists, recommend that buprenorphine should be discontinued at least 72 hours prior to elective surgery and replaced with low dose opioid agonists, in the interim. Other providers, mainly comprising of psychiatrists, contend that these patients should be maintained on buprenorphine throughout the peri-operative period at either a full or reduced dose to prevent an indeterminate risk of substance abuse relapse that can occur as consequence to the abrupt termination buprenorphine in the highly stressful surgical period. This study aims to inform this important unresolved question in the clinical care of this growing population. The investigators seek to determine the effectiveness of managing postoperative pain in patients with OUD where buprenorphine/naloxone is continued perioperatively compared to patients where buprenorphine/naloxone is reduced to a lower dose. Longitudinally, the investigators also intend to determine if there is a difference in substance abuse relapse in patients where buprenorphine/naloxone is continued vs. held by using self assessments and communication with the participant's buprenorphine provider.

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Conditions studied

  • Opioid-use Disorder
  • Pain, Acute
  • Surgery

Keywords

  • relapse
  • buprenorphine/naloxone
  • opioids
  • narcotics
  • post-surgical pain
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In context

Opioid-Related Disorders

1,472 studies on the registry are indexed under Opioid-Related Disorders; 290 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 76 is above the median of 63 across 1,166 interventional studies indexed under Opioid-Related Disorders.

Browse Opioid-Related Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.

Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • currently taking buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone daily for treatment of opioid use disorder by criteria
  • on buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone dose of greater than 8mg for at least 30 days
  • ASA health class I-III

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to consent to the study
  • Significant pulmonary or cardiac disease
  • Renal insufficiency with a less than 30ml/min
  • Liver cirrhosis with a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of greater than 25
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

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Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
76 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    FULL-BUPRENORPHINE

    Participants will be randomly assigned to be maintained on their daily dose of buprenorphine/naloxone

    Drug: buprenorphine/naloxone

  • No intervention
    LOW-BUPRENORPHINE (control)

    Participants will be randomly assigned to have their daily dose of buprenorphine/naloxone reduced to 8mg on the day of surgery

Interventions

  • Drugbuprenorphine/naloxone

    Drug pages: Buprenorphine · Naloxone

    The intervention will be to either continue taking buprenorphine/naloxone or to have the medication reduced perioperatively.

    Also known as: Reduction vs Continuation

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Post-operative pain scores

    Level of pain on a Visual Analog Scale of 0-100 (0=no pain; 100=worst pain imaginable) This scale will be used to quantify the varying degrees of pain or discomfort experienced by the participant.

    Time frame: 24 hours after surgery

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postoperative opioid consumption

    Amount of opioids needed for pain control postoperatively

    Time frame: 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours after surgery

  2. Post-operative pain scores

    Level of pain on Visual Analog Scale 0-100 (0= no pain 100= worst pain imaginable) We will compare the results of the 48 and 72 hour time-points with the 24 hour time-point.

    Time frame: 48 hours, 72 hours after surgery

  3. Presence, severity of substance abuse

    Participants will complete questionnaires to identify the presence and severity of substance abuse.These values will be compared with baseline values obtained preoperatively.

    Time frame: 1 month after surgery

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Publications

  • McLellan AT, Lewis DC, O'Brien CP, Kleber HD. Drug dependence, a chronic medical illness: implications for treatment, insurance, and outcomes evaluation. JAMA. 2000 Oct 4;284(13):1689-95. doi: 10.1001/jama.284.13.1689. PubMed 11015800 ↗
  • Scott CK, Dennis ML, Laudet A, Funk RR, Simeone RS. Surviving drug addiction: the effect of treatment and abstinence on mortality. Am J Public Health. 2011 Apr;101(4):737-44. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.197038. Epub 2011 Feb 17. PubMed 21330586 ↗
  • Degenhardt L, Bucello C, Mathers B, Briegleb C, Ali H, Hickman M, McLaren J. Mortality among regular or dependent users of heroin and other opioids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Addiction. 2011 Jan;106(1):32-51. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03140.x. Epub 2010 Nov 4. PubMed 21054613 ↗
  • Schuckit MA. Treatment of Opioid-Use Disorders. N Engl J Med. 2016 Jul 28;375(4):357-68. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1604339. No abstract available. PubMed 27464203 ↗
  • Gordon AJ, Lo-Ciganic WH, Cochran G, Gellad WF, Cathers T, Kelley D, Donohue JM. Patterns and Quality of Buprenorphine Opioid Agonist Treatment in a Large Medicaid Program. J Addict Med. 2015 Nov-Dec;9(6):470-7. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000164. PubMed 26517324 ↗
  • Roberts DM, Meyer-Witting M. High-dose buprenorphine: perioperative precautions and management strategies. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2005 Feb;33(1):17-25. doi: 10.1177/0310057X0503300104. PubMed 15957687 ↗
  • Bryson EO. The perioperative management of patients maintained on medications used to manage opioid addiction. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2014 Jun;27(3):359-64. doi: 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000052. PubMed 24500338 ↗
  • McCormick Z, Chu SK, Chang-Chien GC, Joseph P. Acute pain control challenges with buprenorphine/naloxone therapy in a patient with compartment syndrome secondary to McArdle's disease: a case report and review. Pain Med. 2013 Aug;14(8):1187-91. doi: 10.1111/pme.12135. Epub 2013 May 3. PubMed 23647815 ↗
  • Huang A, Katznelson R, de Perrot M, Clarke H. Perioperative management of a patient undergoing Clagett window closure stabilized on Suboxone(R) for chronic pain: a case report. Can J Anaesth. 2014 Sep;61(9):826-31. doi: 10.1007/s12630-014-0193-y. Epub 2014 Jul 2. PubMed 24985936 ↗
  • Kornfeld H, Manfredi L. Effectiveness of full agonist opioids in patients stabilized on buprenorphine undergoing major surgery: a case series. Am J Ther. 2010 Sep-Oct;17(5):523-8. doi: 10.1097/MJT.0b013e3181be0804. PubMed 19918165 ↗
  • Macintyre PE, Russell RA, Usher KA, Gaughwin M, Huxtable CA. Pain relief and opioid requirements in the first 24 hours after surgery in patients taking buprenorphine and methadone opioid substitution therapy. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2013 Mar;41(2):222-30. doi: 10.1177/0310057X1304100212. PubMed 23530789 ↗
  • Kelly AM. The minimum clinically significant difference in visual analogue scale pain score does not differ with severity of pain. Emerg Med J. 2001 May;18(3):205-7. doi: 10.1136/emj.18.3.205. PubMed 11354213 ↗
  • Wilkinson KM, Krige A, Brearley SG, Lane S, Scott M, Gordon AC, Carlson GL. Thoracic Epidural analgesia versus Rectus Sheath Catheters for open midline incisions in major abdominal surgery within an enhanced recovery programme (TERSC): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2014 Oct 21;15:400. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-400. PubMed 25336055 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — IPD will only be available to researchers involved in the study. All data will be collected and stored securely using the Redcap system to preserve privacy and confidentiality. Information regarding substance abuse history, including illicit narcotic use, will remain confidential and personal identifiers will be removed during data storage. Only members of the research team will have access to the data that participants have consented to provide. Participants will be informed that they have the right to not answer any question that makes them feel uncomfortable.

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Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Oct 2018; primary completion for Dec 2021, 38 months later.

Of 48 non-industry phase 4 interventional studies under Opioid-Related Disorders, half reached primary completion within 35 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 55. This study's planned 38 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 52 studies reached it within 32 months; a quarter within 20 and three quarters within 55.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 28, 2017
First posted
Aug 30, 2017
StartEst.
Oct 5, 2018
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2021
CompletionEst.
Feb 26, 2022
Last update
Oct 9, 2018
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 9, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03266445
Responsible party
Aurora Naa-Afoley Quaye (Instructor M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 30, 2017
Start date
Oct 5, 2018 (estimated)
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2021 (estimated)
Completion
Feb 26, 2022 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 9, 2018

Study contacts

Aurora Quaye, MD
Contact
aquaye@partners.org
617-726-2000
Aurora Quaye, MD
principal investigator · Massachusetts General Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is status unknown, as verified in Oct 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drugs tested here: Buprenorphine · Naloxone

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