The mother of a cancer patient comes to the nurse concerned with her daughter's safety; the morphine dose she needs to control her pain is getting "higher and higher." The mother is afraid that her daughter will overdose
The nurse educates the mother to the fact that:
A) The dose range is higher with cancer patients and we will be very careful to prevent addiction.
B) Frequently, women need higher doses of morphine to be comfortable.
C) Cancer is a terminal illness that requires higher doses of narcotics.
D) There is no maximum opioid dose and your daughter is just becoming more tolerant to the drug.
Ans: D
Feedback: There is no maximum dose of morphine, and the dose is pain dependent. Patients requiring opioids for chronic pain, especially cancer patients, need increasing doses to relieve pain. The requirement for higher drug doses results in a greater drug tolerance, which is a physical dependency as opposed to addiction, which is a psychological dependency. Option A is incorrect; the dose range is usually higher with cancer patients. Although tolerance to the drug will increase, addiction is not dose related but a separate psychological dependency issue. Option B is incorrect; there is no research that indicates that women need higher doses of morphine to be comfortable. Option C is incorrect; telling the mother that cancer is a terminal illness that requires higher doses of narcotics does not answer her question.
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