Pulmonary Edema and Morphine

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Family.

I had a question regarding this on an employment app. How exactly does morphine act to relieve pulm edema?

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

The first thing that comes to my mind is the vasodilator effects of morphine. Allows more blood flow, lowering pressures -> Allows the heart to work more effectively -> less fluid gets stuck in the pulmonary structures. Sort of the same way nitro will help with flash pulm edema.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

hello, southernlpn.

morphine reduces preload.

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Both above are correct. I would only add that Pulm edema causes(of course) severe shortness of breath and the discomfort of feeling you can't breathe causes additional anxiety and distress(increases the workload). So MS will help with the suffocation feeling and the pt may breathe easier.

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Both above are correct. I would only add that Pulm edema causes(of course) severe shortness of breath and the discomfort of feeling you can't breathe causes additional anxiety and distress(increases the workload). So MS will help with the suffocation feeling and the pt may breathe easier.

Exactly. Similar to the reasoning for giving morphine to patients having chest pain. If you decreased the pain and/or anxiety, you can decrease the amount of work and oxygen consumption.

Morphine doesn't relieve the edema, but can help manage it while other drugs relieve it.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Great question. Great replies.

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Specializes in Family.

Thanks all! One of the answers was something to the effect of it being a vasodilator, but I couldn't remember. Thanks again!

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I just learned a ton right now. You guys are so smart.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

We have alot of expertise here at allnurses....the members themselves are like a pot of gold...valuable in every way. You can find most if not all your nursing needs here. This thread simply demonstrated that.

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It's also proposed that morphine has action on inhibiting Cns determinants of central venous tone. Specificlly it is proposed that it can trigger a ganglionic blockade causing venous dilation thereby lowering pvr and premitting an increase in venous return lowering pulmonary congestion.

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/107869/files/pdf

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