Cancer pain relief using chronic morphine infusion. Early experience with a programmable implanted drug pump.

Fourteen patients were implanted with drug pumps to provide chronic epidural or intrathecal morphine to relieve pain due to cancer. A new programmable pump was used in seven of the patients and a constant infusion device was used in the other seven patients. Results, judged by subjective pain reports (on a 0 to 10 scale), decrease in oral narcotics, and change in activity level, were excellent in eight patients, good in five patients, and poor in one patient. The programmable device has the obvious advantage of being able to vary dose according to patient need and requires less frequent refilling. Four programmable pump failures occurred, two requiring replacement.