Oral Dosing Data For Most Commonly Used Opioid Analgesics
Drug
Approximate equianalgesic oral dose
Recommended oral starting dose (patients more than 50 kg body weight
Recommended oral starting dose (patients less than 50 kg body weight)
Morphine 30 mg q3-4h (around the clock dosing) 30 mg q3-4h 0.3 mg/kg q3-4h
Codeine 130 mg q3-4h 60 mg q3-4h 1 mg/kg q3-4h
Hydrocodone 30 mg q3-4h 10 mg q3-4h 0.2 mg/kg q3-4h
Oxycodone 30 mg q3-4h 10 mg q3-4h 0.2 mg/kg q3-4h

Caution: Recommended doses do not apply to patients with renal or hepatic insufficiency or other conditions affecting drug metabolism and kinetics. Doses listed for patients with body weight less than 50 kg cannot be used as initial starting doses in babies less than 6 months of age. Codeine doses above 65 mg often are not appropriate due to diminishing incremental analgesia with increasing doses but continually increasing constipation and other side effects. Doses of aspirin and acetaminophen in combination opioid/NSAID preparations must also be adjusted to the patient’s weight.


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