Medical-surgical floor for abdominal pain.

A 72 year old female was admitted to the medical-surgical floor for abdominal pain. The patient is scheduled for surgery (a laparotomy) in the morning. Post-op orders are discussed with the patient. The provider prescribes morphine. 1. Why was morphine ordered? (USLO 3.1) Morphine is used to relieve moderate-to-severe pain. Preoperative administration of morphine helps in reducing the physiological consequences of the nervous system’s response to potentially harmful stimuli (nociceptive transmission) stimulated by invasive procedures and alleviate the patients’ postoperative pain. a single dose of morphine has the capacity to reduce pain and has longlasting effects. It is much more convenient and safer than adopting sedative drugs for morphine’s relatively slight effect on patients’ respiratory and circulatory function.