Hydromorphone
Pronunciation:high-droh-MOR-fohn
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:466-99-9. (Hydrochloride form 71-
68-1)
Formal Names:Dilaudid, Hydrostat IR, Palladone
Informal Names:Big D, D, Delantz, Delats, Delaud, Delida, Dillies, Drugstore
Heroin, Hospital Heroin, Little D, Lords, Pills
Type:Depressant (opiate class).Seepage 22
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule II (DEA no. 9150)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:C
Uses.This pain reliever and cough suppressant was first produced in the
1920s. It is made frommorphine. For pain relief hydromorphone is 2 to 10
times stronger than morphine (depending on why and how the drugs are
administered), but hydromorphone effects do not last as long as morphine’s.
Hydromorphone is recommended to reduce particularly severe pain, such as
that encountered in cancer, kidney stone attack, heart attack, sickle-cell anemia
crisis, burns, or surgery. One study of seriously ill persons and another study
of surgery patients found hydromorphone to be as effective as morphine in
pain relief. No difference emerged from surveys asking patients whether mor-
phine or hydromorphone was the more effective pain reliever. In one study
patients preferred hydromorphone tomeperidinefor reducing pain, although
medical personnel observed no superiority of one over the other. In another
study medical personnel judged hydromorphone as better than meperidine
for pain control, and in still another study hydromorphone’s effects lasted
longer than meperidine’s.
Drawbacks.Unwanted effects can include itching, nausea, vomiting, con-
stipation, urination difficulty, sedation, sleepiness, dizziness, poor appetite,
low blood pressure, muscle spasms, impairment of breathing, reduced mental
clarity, and impaired male sexual function. Users should avoid running dan-
gerous machinery such as an automobile until they know the drug is not
impeding skills necessary for such tasks. One study involving abdominal sur-
gery patients found that hydromorphone impaired thinking and reasoning
more than morphine did, but the same study found that patients’ spirits rose
more with hydromorphone.