Buprenorphine has been in clinical use in anaesthesia for several decades. Recently, the high-dose sublingual formulation (Subutex®, Reckitt Benckiser, Slough, U.K.) has been increasingly used as maintenance therapy in opioid dependence, as an alternative to methadone and other pharmacological therapies. Buprenorphine has unique pharmacological properties making it well suited for use as a maintenance therapy in opioid dependence. However, these same properties may cause difficulty in the perioperative management of pain. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, attenuating the effects of supplemental illicit or therapeutic opioid agonists. As a result of its high receptor affinity, supplemental opioids do not readily displace buprenorphine from the opioid receptor in standard doses. High-dose buprenorphine has an extended duration of action that prolongs both of these effects. The perioperative management of patients stabilized on high-dose buprenorphine and undergoing surgery requires consideration of the likely analgesic requirements. Where possible the buprenorphine should be continued. Pain management should focus on maximizing non-opioid analgesia, local anaesthesia and non-pharmacological techniques. Where pain may not be adequately relieved by these methods, the addition of a full opioid agonist such as fentanyl or morphine at appropriate doses should be considered, accompanied by close monitoring in a high dependency unit. In situations where this regimen is unlikely to be effective, preoperative conversion to morphine or methadone may be an option. Where available, liaison with a hospital-based alcohol and drug service should always be considered.

The purpose of this systematic review is to investigate current evidence for analgesic use in the prehospital environment using expert military and civilian opinion to determine the important clinical questions. There was a high degree of agreement that pain should be no worse than mild, that pain relief be rapid (within 10 minutes), that patients should respond to verbal stimuli and not require ventilatory support, and that major adverse events should be avoided. Twenty-one studies provided information about 6,212 patients; the majority reported most of the outcomes of interest. With opioids 60-70% of patients still had pain levels above 30/100 mm on a Visual Analogue Scale after 10 minutes, falling to about 30% by 30-40 minutes. Fascia iliaca blocks demonstrated some efficacy for femoral fractures. No patient on opioids required ventilatory support; two required naloxone; sedation was rare. Cardiovascular instability was uncommon. Main adverse events were dizziness or giddiness, and pruritus with opioids. There was little evidence regarding the prehospital use of ketamine. group.bmj.com on July 28, 2015 -Published by http://jramc.bmj.com/ Downloaded from Pre-hospital analgesia J R Army Med Corps 156 (4 Suppl 1): S295-300 CL Park, DE Roberts, DJ Aldington et al Pre-hospital analgesia J R Army Med Corps 156 (4 Suppl 1): S295-300 CL Park, DE Roberts, DJ Aldington et al