Buprenorphine blocks withdrawal in morphine-dependent rat pups

Infants placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or mechanical ventilation often need continuous morphine infusions for pain relief and sedation. The resulting physical dependence requires an additional 2-3-week hospital stay to taper the morphine to avoid withdrawal. Buprenorphine effectively blocks abstinence in dependent adults, and in infants it could accelerate or eliminate the tapering schedule, thereby enabling earlier hospital dismissals.

Morphine-dependent infant rats were used in this study to determine the effectiveness of buprenorphine in blocking abstinence. Postnatal day-14 (P14) rats were implanted with osmotic minipumps that delivered saline (1 microl x h(-1)) or morphine (2 mg x kg(-1) h(-1)) for 72 h. The minipumps were then removed to allow the rats to undergo spontaneous morphine withdrawal.

The withdrawal period lasted approximately 72 h out of a 96-h observation period. The following signs were significant during these hours: wet-dog shakes, 1-72 h; abdominal stretches, 1-72 h; forepaw tremors, 1-24 h; splayed hind-limbs, 1-72 h; ptosis, 4-72 h; and evoked vocalization, 4 and 8 h. A single 1 mg x kg(-1) buprenorphine dose significantly decreased wet-dog shakes from 1 to 72 h, abdominal stretches from 1 to 48 h, forepaw tremors and splayed hind-limbs 1-8 h, and ptosis and evoked vocalization at 4 and 8 h. Repeated administration of 1 mg x kg(-1) buprenorphine before pump removal and at 24, 48 and 72 h resulted in a greater magnitude of blockade of abstinence throughout the 96-h observation period.

Buprenorphine may prove to be a suitable drug for treating opioid withdrawal in human infants.