CURRENT PATTERNS OF PRESCRIBING AND ADMINISTERING MORPHINE IN TRAUMA PATIENTS

We attempted to characterize the current prescribing practices and adm inistration patterns for intravenous intermittent morphine in trauma p atients in a multicenter, open prospective, observational study. The s ubjects were 141 patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit s (ICU) of five United States trauma centers within 12 hours of injury who received intermittent intravenous morphine for pain relief. The s tudy was conducted from April 15, 1992, to February 15, 1993. Data obt ained during the first 32 hours of the ICU stay included morphine regi men, doses administered, and time between doses. One hundred sixty-one orders were prescribed by surgeons. The most frequently ordered dose was 2-4 mg and the most frequently ordered interval was every hour as necessary. There was no relationship between the severity of injury an d the minimum dose ordered. During the 492 nursing shifts studied, 125 7 doses were administered. Of these, 44% were at or below the minimum amount prescribed by the surgeons. Thirty-three percent of the patient s received a dose at an interval of more than 3 hours. We concluded th at small amounts of narcotic analgesics are given to severely injured patients, and amount ordered is not affected by the severity of injury .