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. 1992 Nov;34(5):434–437. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1992.tb05652.x

Morphine metabolism in neonates and infants.

I Choonara 1, A Lawrence 1, A Michalkiewicz 1, A Bowhay 1, J Ratcliffe 1
PMCID: PMC1381474  PMID: 1467140

Abstract

The metabolism of morphine was studied in seven fullterm neonates and five infants receiving a continuous infusion of morphine. All the patients had detectable plasma concentrations of morphine 3-glucuronide (M3G) and 10 had detectable concentrations of morphine 6-glucuronide (M6G). The mean plasma clearance of morphine was 20.1 ml min-1 kg-1 in neonates and 23.4 ml min-1 kg-1 in the group as a whole. The M3G/morphine ratio (7.3) was higher than that previously reported for preterm neonates (5.0) but lower than that reported for children (23.9).

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Selected References

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