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Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
07:23

Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities

Published on: July 29, 2014

Determinants of prescribing meperidine compared to morphine in hospitalized patients

Mukta Panda1, Norman Desbiens, Neema Doshi

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga Unit, 960 East Third Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA. pandam@erlanger.org

Pain
|July 28, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Meperidine is frequently used for shorter pain management courses, despite risks. Interventions promoting appropriate use, not elimination, may reduce toxicity and improve physician acceptance.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Morphine is often preferred over meperidine due to the latter's toxic metabolite formation.
  • Factors influencing meperidine prescribing patterns remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the determinants associated with prescribing meperidine versus morphine.
  • To identify patient and physician factors linked to meperidine utilization.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective chart review of adult patients with orders for morphine or meperidine.
  • Analysis of 1552 orders from 670 patients to determine prescribing patterns.

Main Results:

  • Meperidine accounted for 36% of all narcotic orders reviewed.
  • Physician specialty, total doses, hospital location, patient race, age, insurance, and physician gender were significantly associated with meperidine ordering.
  • Meperidine was more frequently ordered for patients receiving fewer doses or shorter courses of narcotics.

Conclusions:

  • Meperidine continues to be frequently prescribed, particularly for patients with shorter treatment durations.
  • Targeted interventions for appropriate meperidine use, rather than complete discontinuation, could mitigate toxicity risks and gain physician acceptance.

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