Drug interactions
Buprenorphine + Olanzapine
Severity: Moderate
Buprenorphine and Olanzapine: moderate interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Both agents can slightly prolong the QT interval and both cause sedation. Together they may enhance CNS and respiratory depression and add to arrhythmia risk in susceptible patients.
What this interaction means in plain words
Buprenorphine and Olanzapine can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken.
Buprenorphine belongs to Musculoskeletal; Olanzapine belongs to Central Nervous System.
Why it happens
Additive CNS depression and additive effects on cardiac repolarization.
What to do
Monitor for sedation, respiratory depression and orthostasis, and obtain an ECG if other QT risks exist. Reduce doses if excessive sedation occurs.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Should I take them at different times of day?
- Does the dose of either medicine need to change?
- Is there anything I should avoid, such as alcohol or certain foods, while on both?
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Other interactions of Buprenorphine
- Alvimopan + Buprenorphine Contraindicated
- Buprenorphine + Calcium / magnesium / potassium / sodium oxybates Contraindicated
- Buprenorphine + Olanzapine / samidorphan Contraindicated
- Buprenorphine + Phenelzine Contraindicated
- Buprenorphine + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Buprenorphine + Thioridazine Contraindicated
Other interactions of Olanzapine
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Buprenorphine with Olanzapine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Buprenorphine and Olanzapine can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken. Both agents can slightly prolong the QT interval and both cause sedation. Together they may enhance CNS and respiratory depression and add to arrhythmia risk in susceptible patients.
How serious is the interaction between Buprenorphine and Olanzapine?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Monitor for sedation, respiratory depression and orthostasis, and obtain an ECG if other QT risks exist. Reduce doses if excessive sedation occurs.
What other medicines interact with Buprenorphine?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Buprenorphine with, for example, Alvimopan, Calcium / magnesium / potassium / sodium oxybates, Olanzapine / samidorphan. The full list is on the Buprenorphine page.
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