Butorphanol and Buprenorphine Interaction

Drug interaction information between Butorphanol and Buprenorphine.

Butorphanol and Buprenorphine have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.

FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Butorphanol and Buprenorphine. This page displays the available source-record category and label text. The category is not an individual risk estimate or medication-combination direction.

Drug A

Butorphanol

Opioid Agonist-Antagonist

Drug B

Buprenorphine

Partial Opioid Agonist

How They Interact

These medicines can work together to slow your breathing and make your muscles very weak. This increases the risk of serious breathing problems.

FDA Label Information

Examples: butorphanol, nalbuphine, pentazocine Muscle Relaxants Clinical Impact: Buprenorphine may enhance the neuromuscular blocking action of skeletal muscle relaxants and produce an increased degree of respiratory depression.

Frequently Asked Questions

What SPL severity band is on file for Butorphanol + Buprenorphine (Pain)?

Compiled FDA labeling labels this pair minor. That is a source-record field, not an individual medication-combination decision.

Which drug in this pair has the larger labeled-interaction portfolio?

Buprenorphine has 19 labeled pairs on file vs Butorphanol's 11. In the minor band specifically: Butorphanol has 10 (also Acetaminophen/Oxycodone, Codeine, Fentanyl, Hydromorphone); Buprenorphine has 19 (also Gabapentin, Trazodone, Tramadol, Cyclobenzaprine).

What mechanism field is on file for Butorphanol and Buprenorphine (Pain)?

These medicines can work together to slow your breathing and make your muscles very weak. This increases the risk of serious breathing problems.

Buprenorphine's labeled portfolio outnumbers Butorphanol

SPL source-record counts only. This page's band is minor · classes on file: Butorphanol (Opioid Agonist-Antagonist); Buprenorphine (Partial Opioid Agonist).

Butorphanol

0 major · 1 moderate · 10 minor · 11 total

Buprenorphine

0 major · 0 moderate · 19 minor · 19 total

Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. This registry does not provide individual medication-combination directions.