A patient presenting for a follow-up visit is on oxycodone. How many morphine milligram equivalents per day is he taking if he takes oxycodone 5 mg three times a day?

To calculate the morphine milligram equivalents (MME) for oxycodone, it's essential to know the conversion factor. Oxycodone has a conversion ratio of 1 mg of oxycodone being approximately equal to 1.5 mg of morphine.

In this scenario, the patient is taking oxycodone 5 mg three times a day. This totals to 15 mg of oxycodone per day (5 mg x 3).

To convert oxycodone to morphine milligram equivalents:

• You take the total daily dose of oxycodone (15 mg) and multiply it by the conversion factor (1.5).

So, the calculation would be:

15 mg oxycodone x 1.5 = 22.5 mg morphine milligram equivalents.

This confirms that the patient is taking 22.5 morphine milligram equivalents per day, making it the correct answer. Understanding this process is critical for proper medication management, especially when switching between opioids or assessing overall opioid usage in a patient.