Intrathecal Morphine for Intraoperative and Postoperative Analgesia

Abstract

INTRATHECAL morphine injection for relief of cancer pain was recently shown by Wang et al¹to be effective and safe. To our knowledge, its use for intraoperative and postoperative analgesia has not been reported. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> A 52-year-old man was admitted to the Presbyterian-University Hospital, Pittsburgh, and referred to the Pain Control Clinic in January 1980 for treatment of abdominal pain. A diagnosis of inoperable carcinoma of the pancreas had been confirmed at laparotomy six months earlier. His pain occurred mainly on the right side of the abdomen and had increased in severity to the extent that he required an intramuscular (IM) injection of morphine sulfate, 10 mg every four hours, for control of the pain. Since this patient's condition had been diagnosed as terminal cancer, he was included in a clinical trial involving the use of intrathecal morphine for pain relief. On two separate occasions (three