Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 25;25(3):18.
doi: 10.1007/s11916-020-00934-z.

Tapentadol, Buprenorphine, and Levorphanol for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain: a Systematic Review

Affiliations

Tapentadol, Buprenorphine, and Levorphanol for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain: a Systematic Review

Samantha C Erosa et al. Curr Pain Headache Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: The objective of this systematic review is to present the available evidence for the utilization of the atypical opioids tapentadol, buprenorphine, and levorphanol for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Recent findings: In total, 1619 articles were retrieved of which 10 studies were included. Of 5 included studies pertaining to tapentadol, 4 studies show tapentadol monotherapy to be effective for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy or chronic, radiating low back pain. Of the 3 studies included for buprenorphine, only one was a randomized controlled trial found not to have a statistically significant reduction in pain with TD buprenorphine likely due to very high withdrawal rates during the trial. Only 2 case reports were included from the available literature for levorphanol providing low-quality anecdotal evidence. The role of tapentadol, buprenorphine, and levorphanol for neuropathic pain conditions requires robust research including randomized controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy and safety.

Keywords: Atypical opioid; Buprenorphine; Levorphanol; Neuropathic pain; Tapentadol.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. van Hecke O, Austin SK, Khan RA, Smith BH, Torrance N. Neuropathic pain in the general population: a systematic review of epidemiological studies. Pain. 2014;155(4):654–62. - PubMed
    1. IASP Terminology [Internet]. International Association for the Study of Pain Available from: http://www.iasp-pain.org/Education/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1698&navI... . Accessed 3/9/19.
    1. Gierthmühlen J, Baron R. Neuropathic pain. Semin Neurol. 2016;36(5):462–8. - PubMed
    1. Cruccu G, Truini A. A review of neuropathic pain: from guidelines to clinical practice. Pain Ther. 2017;6(Suppl 1):35–42. - PubMed - PMC
    1. Finnerup NB, Attal N, Haroutounian S, McNicol E, Baron R, Dworkin RH, et al. Pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Neurol. 2015;14(2):162–73. - PubMed - PMC

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources