Morphine actions around-the-clock control of chronic back pain

Extended-release (ER) morphine [Avinza] provides around-the-clock control of chronic pain and improves quality of sleep in patients with moderate-to-severe low back pain, according to results of the ACTION* study presented at the 25th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) [San Antonio, Texas, US; May 2006]. The 8-week study showed that once-daily ER morphine provided better pain control than twice-daily controlled-release (CR) oxycodone [OxyContin], as demonstrated by significantly greater improvements from baseline in Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scores at 6, 9 and 12 hours after dosing. Compared with CR oxycodone, ER morphine was associated with significantly greater improvements in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores and a significant reduction in rescue medication use to control breakthrough pain. The benefits observed with ER morphine were maintained or further enhanced during a 4-month extension phase of the study.