ABSTRACT
Prescribe morphine pharmacotherapy at regular intervals throughout the 24-hour day for the symptomatic management of moderate to severe acute pain. There is no “usual” recommended dosage because of such variable factors as general health, pharmacokinetic parameters, and individual factors associated with the experience of pain, including its cause, intensity, and duration. A general rule is to prescribe the lowest effective dosage as infrequently as possible. This recommendation will help to provide optimal therapeutic benefit while minimizing the development of tolerance to morphine’s analgesic action. Morphine acts as an agonist at specific opiate receptor sites in the CNS producing analgesia. It also produces alterations in endocrine and autonomic nervous system function (e.g., decreased GI motility), drowsiness, mood changes, nausea, respiratory depression, and vomiting.
