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Respiratory Disorders (Expert Forum)
medications and respiratory failure
Answered by
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medications and respiratory failure
by awalk, Jan 18, 2005 12:00AM
If someone is in the hospital and goes into respiratory failure, a drug test shows hydromorphone level of 4700 ng/ml, would this be a toxic amount, and could it cause permanent damage to the patient's heart & lungs?
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish, Feb 14, 2005 12:00AM
, Feb 14, 2005 12:00AM
Hydromorphone is structurally related to morphine. However it is approximately 5 to 10 times more potent. Analgesia after hydromorphone lasts 4 to 5 hours. The effects of hydromorphone are essentially indistinguishable from those of heroin. Like any other opiate, this drug could result in respiratory failure by suppression of the respiratory center in the brain stem. The drug itself should not be harmful to the heart or lungs.
Contact the laboratory where the serum level of 4700 ng/ml was determined. Ask the lab for their therapeutic drug level.
Contact the laboratory where the serum level of 4700 ng/ml was determined. Ask the lab for their therapeutic drug level.
