Systems and methods for treating an opioid-induced adverse pharmacodynamic response

A method of preventing or treating an opioid-induced adverse pharmacodynamic response comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of buprenorphine to prevent or treat the adverse pharmacodynamic response induced by the administration of an analgesically effective amount of an opioid selected from the group consisting of oxycodone, morphine, codeine, oxymorphone, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, tramadol, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and mixtures thereof, wherein the adverse pharmacodynamic response is selected from the group consisting of bowel dysfunction, nausea, vomiting, somnolence, dizziness, respiratory depression, headache, dry mouth, sedation, sweats, asthenia, hypotension, dysphoria, delirium, miosis, pruritis, urticaria, urinary retention, allodynia, physical dependence and tolerance;

• wherein the buprenorphine does not cause a substantial decrease in the analgesic effectiveness of the opioid;
• and wherein the buprenorphine and the opioid are administered by the same route or by a different route and the route of administration is independently selected from the group consisting of oral, transdermal, sublingual, buccal, gingival, rectal, subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous.