Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Military-related PTSD With Treatment-resistant Depression and Unexpected Benefit for Chronic Pain: Case Report

Anna Skorzewska; William A Younger; Kylie S Dempster; Anthony Nazarov; J Don Richardson

doi:10.1093/milmed/usae416

Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Military-related PTSD With Treatment-resistant Depression and Unexpected Benefit for Chronic Pain: Case Report

Mil Med. 2024 Sep 18:usae416. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usae416. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Anna Skorzewska^{1

2

3}, William A Younger⁴, Kylie S Dempster⁴, Anthony Nazarov^{1

3

4

5}, J Don Richardson^{1

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada.
³ Department of Psychiatry, St. Joseph's OSI Clinic, St. Joseph's Health Care London, London, ON N6A 4V2, Canada.
⁴ MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8N 3K7, Canada.

PMID: 39292529
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usae416

Abstract

The prevalence of treatment-resistant depression within global and military populations highlights the need for novel treatment approaches beyond monoamine neurotransmitter modulators. Buprenorphine (BUP), a semi-synthetic partial opioid agonist, is approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder and has shown promise in treating both depression and chronic pain. This case report discusses the use of transdermal BUP in treating a 36 year-old man with treatment-resistant depression with prominent anhedonia, military-related posttraumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain because of barosinusitis. Significant reductions in anxious and depressive symptoms, including in anhedonia, were observed with lasting effects. An unexpected finding was the discontinuation of prescribed hydromorphone for pain, suggesting the potential unique benefit of BUP in treating chronic pain and treatment resistant depression comorbidities. These findings implicate the diverse beneficial potential of BUP in psychiatric treatments for military populations.

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