title: Buccal morphine--a new route for analgesia?
abstract: The analgesic effects of buccal and intramuscular morphine were compared in a prospective, double-blind, double-dummy study in forty patients who experienced pain after elective orthopaedic operations. Each patient simultaneously received a buccal tablet and an intramuscular injection, only one of which contained morphine sulphate (13.3 mg); the patients were randomly allocated to two equal groups so twenty patients received each active preparation. The two preparations produced a similar degree of postoperative analgesia, assessed by the mean reduction in pain score and the pain relief score. Peak plasma morphine concentrations were slightly lower after buccal than after intramuscular administration but they declined more slowly; consequently, the drug's bioavailability was 40-50% greater after buccal than after intramuscular administration. The adverse effects of buccal morphine were generally less than those of intramuscular morphine.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Calvey
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Weldon
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000698:Analgesia; D002610:Cheek; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013607:Tablets
chemical_list: D013607:Tablets; D009020:Morphine