FDA reversal OKs morphine painkiller – still ok for dying patients

If it were not available I would anticipate more visits to the ER with 911 calls for relief possible. The liquid form can be used by care givers with a few drops on the tongue to relieve pain. FDA is still looking at other pain killing drugs with their study. BD

(AP) -- A liquid morphine painkiller given by family caregivers to dying patients can remain on the market, federal regulators have decided after hearing protests over their decision to remove it. The Food and Drug Administration had announced last week that it was ordering manufacturers to stop making 14 medications including the liquid morphine. All were developed so long ago they had never received FDA approval.

The reversal was welcomed by experts in hospice care and pain relief. One doctors group had told the FDA that last week's order would "cause extreme suffering for many patients who are nearing the end of life."

But reaction from hospice experts and others "helped us understand" that some patients need the unapproved version, Throckmorton said.