Back to Opioid Equivalents and Dose Conversions
The answer is 0.25mg/hour of subcutaneous hydromorphone.
1. 90mg oral morphine every 12 hours + 10mg oral morphine every 6 hours = 240mg daily
2. Conversion ratio of oral morphine to IV hydromorphone is 30 : 1.5
3. 240mg morphine / X = 30 / 1.5; X = 240 × 1.5 / 30 = 12mg IV hydromorphone daily.
4. Correct for cross-tolerance—50% of 12mg = 6 mg IV hydromorphone daily 5. Hourly infusion rate hydromorphone = 6mg / 24 hours = 0.25mg/hour