What is the differences between 15 mg morphine msir and morphine ms contin 15mg cr?
MSIR (morphine sulfate instant release) will release rapidly (usually on the order of 10-30 minutes) whereas MS-Contin is a controlled release formulation that, unless crushed or chewed or otherwise split, will usually release over 8-12 hours. The 15 mg of MSIR would be a somewhat large dose for an opioid naive patient, a moderate dose for a moderately tolerant patient, and a small dose for a very tolerant patient, whereas the 15 mg MS-Contin is a very conservative starting dose for even opioid naive patients.
