Intrathecal Morphine Sulfate Injection: The Preferred Chronic Pain Treatment Option

May 5th, 2022 Drug, Patient, and Provider Safety, Education, Understanding Intrathecal Therapy

Using Oral Opioids for Chronic Pain Management

Understanding How Oral Opioids Work

When initially diagnosed with chronic pain, a patient typically has one choice in terms of treatment: oral opioids.

Oral opioids are proven to be effective at mitigating chronic pain when prescribed and taken correctly. The keyword there being correctly. It’s important to understand how opioids work so patients know the risks and use their medications safely. Let’s take a deeper look at exactly how oral opioids work.

When a person takes a medicine, whether it’s morphine or acetaminophen or some other pill, it travels through the whole body, not just where it’s needed, before reaching the pain site. As it works its way through the esophagus, stomach, and intestines before finally getting into the bloodstream, the medicine breaks down, ultimately becoming less potent and effective. This, coupled with a patient’s increasing tolerance to the drug, is why a patient needs a stronger dose to get the same relief as time goes on. The dosage has to be continually adjusted, which can lead to some severe risks and side effects.

The Risks of Oral Opioid Use

It’s no secret that America continues to face an opioid crisis; the growth of which can largely be traced back to prescription painkillers. Morphine is highly addictive and when the dosage and treatment are not monitored by a healthcare professional misuse, abuse, addiction, and overuse may occur. Patients might think “I don’t need to talk to my doctor. I will just take more of what I have to ease the pain.” But, that can lead to a slippery slope. Of course, not every patient ends up an addict, but the risk is still very real.

Even for patients who don’t get addicted, there are other risk factors to oral opioids. Patients can experience adverse side effects including nausea, vomiting, constipation, pruritus, dizziness, dry mouth, sedation, and more. Doesn’t sound very pleasant, does it?

For chronic sufferers, dealing with pain is difficult enough. Why should healthcare providers make it more difficult by adding medication schedules and high risks? Luckily, there’s a safer, easier alternative – intrathecal therapy with morphine sulfate injection.

Morphine Sulfate Injection + Intrathecal Therapy = Better Pain Management Benefits

Better Control of Morphine Dosage and Use

Intrathecal therapy provides better control and measurement of morphine dosage and use. Whereas a patient taking oral medicine could ingest multiple pills at one time, the pump provides a measured, traceable dose. The patient can’t give themselves more medication than the pump is programmed to release and the reservoir only holds a certain amount of morphine sulfate at any given time. Thus, the chances of drug misuse or overuse significantly decrease.

Not only is the risk of abuse decreased, but the amount of medication needed is lower when using intrathecal therapy. Because of its targeted delivery method, intrathecal injectable morphine sulfate doesn’t break down like oral opioids. The intrathecal medication is just as potent when it reaches the pain site as it was when it entered the pump, meaning the patient gets stronger relief with a fraction of the amount of an oral dose. It also means there is less dosage escalation over time.

Less Adverse Side Effects

The risk of experiencing adverse side effects also decreases with the use of intrathecal therapy. While some side effects may still occur, continuous dosing with a morphine sulfate pump lessens the most common and harshest reactions.

Safer to Administer

Intrathecal therapy isn’t just safer for patients but can provide benefits to providers as well. When choosing which morphine sulfate injection option to use, providers should consider MITIGO™.

Why choose MITIGO over other injectable morphine options?

• As the only FDA-approved injectable morphine to come packaged in a vial, MITIGO removes the need to break glass ampules, thus removing the risk of injury or bacterial contamination due to broken glass.
• It’s easier to draw medication from a vial than a glass ampule which results in less drug waste.
• The non-compounded formula means there’s no mixing required before administering. Providers don’t have to worry about the patient receiving a variance in potency.
• Pump manufacturers prefer the use of non-compounded drugs as they don’t clog the device. Choosing MITIGO allows for longer pump use and a higher probability of insurance coverage.
• As a non-compounded drug, MITIGO’s potency has proven stable throughout its shelf life, unlike compounded drugs.
• Non-compounded drugs have a longer shelf life than compounded drugs, helping to reduce drug waste.
• With access to Piramal Critical Care’s dedicated team and educational programs, providers are up-to-date on the latest news and training to ensure they’re keeping themselves and their patients safe.

Healthcare providers always want what’s best for their patients, but when what’s best for the patient is also what’s best for the provider, it’s a win-win!

Making the Switch to Intrathecal Therapy

After considering the risks of oral opioid use and seeing the benefits of morphine sulfate injection through intrathecal therapy, the choice of which treatment to choose seems obvious. Morphine sulfate injection delivers better, more controlled results than oral opioids but it is still an opioid and needs to be monitored by a medical professional.

If you’re a patient looking to move from oral to intrathecal treatment, work with your medical team to discover the best path forward.

If you’re a medical or healthcare provider and are interested in learning more about MITIGO, sign up for one of our education programs or contact us to book a meeting with our team.