Analgesic effect and safety of a half-dose transdermal buprenorphine patch after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

To retrospectively explore the effect of a half-dose buprenorphine transdermal patch for analgesia after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR). This analysis was performed with clinical data from patients who received unilateral ARCR in our hospital between October 2017 and December 2020. The patients were divided into three groups (30 cases each). In group A (control group), 100 mg flurbiprofen axetil (FA) was administered twice a day for 5 days after surgery. In group B (experimental group), 100 mg FA was administered twice a day for 5 days and half (2.5 mg) of a buprenorphine transdermal patch was applied after surgery; an additional half (2.5 mg) patch was applied 3 days later. In group C (condition control group), 100 mg FA was administered twice a day for 5 days and a 5-mg patch was applied directly after surgery. The visual analog scale (VAS) was administered repeatedly 1 day before surgery and 1, 2, 3, 5, and 14 days after surgery in each group. The simple shoulder test (SST) score, range of shoulder forward elevation (FE), and external rotation (ER) were recorded preoperatively and 12 weeks postoperatively. VAS scores on postoperative days 3 and 5 were significantly lower in groups B and C than in group A (p < 0.05). The VAS score on postoperative day 14 was significantly lower in group C than in group A (p < 0.05). The difference in VAS score between groups B and C was not significant (p > 0.05). All patients had significantly improved VAS scores, SST scores, FE, and ER at 12 weeks postoperatively. The half-dose buprenorphine transdermal patch had a good analgesic effect with minimal side effects after ARCR and did not delay the recovery of shoulder joint function.