Pain Cancer
Conditions
Brief summary
The investigators aim to establish whether the intravenous or the subcutaneous route of administration has clinically significant advantages when parenteral administration of morphine is started with a combination of continuous infusion and bolus doses in palliative cancer patients. Patients admitted to a Hospital palliative medicine unit with an indication for parenteral administration of morphine will be recruited. The patients will have two similar infusion pumps with continuous infusion and bolus function. One infusion pump will be connected to an intravenous line, the other to a subcutaneous line. One pump contains morphine, one placebo. The primary endpoint is the time from initiation of infusion with titration to the final infusion rate that provides pain control is reached.
Detailed description
Intravenous administration has theoretical advantages in more predictable pharmacokinetics and shorter time to maximum effect. Subcutaneous administration is less invasive, requires less specialized personnel and equipment, and probably poses a lower risk of complications than an intravenous line. Traditionally the subcutaneous route has been the recommended first choice for parenteral administration of opioids for palliative cancer patients. The investigators aim to establish whether the intravenous or the subcutaneous route of administration has clinically significant advantages when parenteral administration of morphine is started with a combination of continuous infusion and bolus doses in palliative cancer patients. Patients admitted to a Hospital palliative medicine unit with an indication for parenteral administration of morphine will be recruited. The patients will have two similar infusion pumps with continuous infusion and bolus function. One infusion pump will be connected to an intravenous line, the other to a subcutaneous line. One pump contains morphine, one placebo. The primary endpoint is the time from initiation of infusion with titration to the final infusion rate that provides pain control is reached. Secondary endpoints are time from bolus administration to pain relief, comparison of Tmax, Cmax, and size of AUC0-60 after bolus doses, the number of bolus doses first 24 and 48 hours, and the number of patients reaching acceptable pain relief within 48 hours.
Interventions
DRUGMorphine
Intravenous morphine infusion compared to subcutaneous morphine infusion
Sponsors
University Hospital, Akershus
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Unsatisfactory pain control despite titration of oral or transdermal opioids * Planned discharge to home or nursing home
Exclusion criteria
* Estimated survival time \<2 weeks * A clear indication for either intravenous or subcutaneous administration * Patient unable to report patient reported outcomes needed in the study due to language barriers or cognitive impairment * Impossible to establish venous access
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Time from initiation of i.v./s.c. morphine to stable infusion rate is reached | 48 hours | Time from initiation of i.v./s.c. morphine to stable infusion rate is reached |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of bolus doses first 24 hours and 48 hours | 24 and 48 hours | Total number of bolus doses first 24 hours and 48 hours |
| Time from bolus administration to clinically significant pain relief | 60 minutes | Time from bolus administration to a reduction of minimum 2 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale. |
| Number of patients not reaching adequate pain relief. | 48 hours | Number of patients in each arm not reaching adequate pain relief within 48 hours. |
| Maximum plasma concentration (Cmax). | 120 minutes | Maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) after bolus dose of morphine |
| Area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC). | 120 minutes | Area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) after bolus administration of morphine. |
| Time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax). | 120 minutes | Time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) after bolus dose of morphine. |
Countries
Norway
Outcome results
None listed