[Refractory cancer pain. Subarachnoid or epidural administration of morphine]

Spinal analgesia, a new method for relieving refractory cancer pain, was tested in 19 patients. A catheter was installed in the subarachnoid (17 cases) or peridural (2 cases) space and connected to a subcutaneous site of injection. The success rate at 10 days was 68%. In 11 patients pain was relieved throughout the course of the malignant disease, with doses that did not exceed 6 mg in 7 patients and 10 mg in the remaining 4 patients. The most severe complications were leakage of the cerebrospinal fluid in 1 case, meningitis after 18 months of injection in 1 case and displacement of the catheter in 3 cases.