Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Jan 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialEnhanced buprenorphine analgesia with the addition of ultra-low-dose naloxone in healthy subjects.
Animal studies have demonstrated that co-administration of an ultra-low-dose opioid antagonist with an opioid agonist may result in enhanced analgesia. Investigation of this effect in humans has been limited and produced inconsistent findings, with previous reports suggesting that dose ratio may be critical to analgesic potentiation. ⋯ Importantly, this enhanced analgesia occurred without an increase in adverse effects; indeed at some ratios, respiratory depression was attenuated. These findings demonstrate that the addition of ultra-low-dose naloxone can enhance the analgesic effect of buprenorphine in humans without a concurrent increase in side effects.