Hydromorphone
 NAME OF DRUG: Hydromorphone (dihydromorphinone, Dilaudid) |
| PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: |
| DOSAGE/OCCURRENCE/USAGE: Hydromorphone is a semisynthetic narcotic and analgesic that is available in a variety of forms for oral, parenteral and rectal administration typically in doses of 1 – 4 mg as the hydrochloride. It is prescribed both as an antitussive and analgesic. Its principal therapeutic effect is relief of pain. Consequently, it has achieved recognition as a drug of abuse. |
| BLOOD CONCENTRATIONS VS. DOSAGE: 0.8 – 1.5 hours after 6 volunteers were given a single 4 mg oral dose, the plasma concentrations reached and average peak of 0.2 mg/L (range 0.018 – 0.027). Eventually it declined with an average half-life of 2.5 hours. |
| URINE EXCRETION RATE: About 6% of a dose is excreted as free and 30% as conjugated hydromorphone in a 24 hour. In that eliminated urine, only traces of conjugated 6-alpha and 6-beta-hydroxy reaction products were present. |
| METABOLITES: Conjugated 6-alpha- and 6-beta-hydroxy reduction products |
| TOXICITY: Serious overdosage is characterized by respiratory depression (a decrease in respiratory rate and /or tidal volume, Cheyne-Stokes respiration, cyanosis) extreme somnolence progressing to stupor or coma, skeletal muscle flaccidity, cold and clammy skin, and sometimes bradycardia and hypotension. In severe cases of intravenous overdose, apnea, circulatory collapse, cardiac arrest, and death may occur. |
| REFERENCES: Baselt, R C. Disposition of Toxic Drugs
and Chemicals in Man, Second Edition. Davis, Calif.: Biomedical Publications, 1982. Physicians’ Desk Reference, Forty-Eight Edition. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Data Production Company, 1994. Goldberger, Bruce A. Opiates Abused Drugs Monograph Series. Ed. Caplan, Yale H. Irving, TX: Abbott Laboratories, 1994. |