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Dilaudid is a prescription opioid analgesic containing hydromorphone hydrochloride. Current oral products include tablets and an oral liquid. It is indicated for pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic when alternate treatments are inadequate. Hydromorphone is a Schedule II controlled substance.
read more about dilaudid ...Hydromorphone is a full opioid agonist with relative selectivity for the mu-opioid receptor. Its principal therapeutic action is analgesia. Opioid receptor activation in the brain and spinal cord changes pain perception and response, while also producing dose-related respiratory and central nervous system depression.
Dilaudid is reserved for patients with pain severe enough to require an opioid when alternate treatments are ineffective, not tolerated, or otherwise inadequate. Treatment is individualized according to prior opioid exposure, pain severity, clinical response, and risk factors for respiratory depression, misuse, or overdose.
For opioid-naive adults, current tablet labeling starts at 2 mg to 4 mg by mouth every four to six hours as needed for pain. The dose is titrated according to analgesic response and adverse reactions. Patients switching from another opioid require conservative conversion and close monitoring due variation in opioid potency.
Dilaudid carries boxed warnings for medication errors, addiction, abuse, misuse, life-threatening respiratory depression, accidental ingestion, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and serious interactions with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system depressants. Significant respiratory depression, severe unmonitored asthma, and known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction are contraindications.
Dilaudid contains hydromorphone hydrochloride, a full opioid agonist.
It is reserved for severe pain requiring an opioid when alternate treatments are inadequate.
Current labeling starts opioid-naive adults at 2 mg to 4 mg every four to six hours as needed.
Yes. Hydromorphone is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States.
DailyMed - DILAUDID (hydromorphone hydrochloride) tablet and solution. https://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=d6b40e39-a57e-402c-b4f6-7041e832f837. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.
DILAUDID (hydromorphone hydrochloride) Prescribing Information. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/019891s034lbl019892s043lbl.pdf. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.
Hydromorphone. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682013.html. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.
Hydromorphone. PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5284570. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.
Hydromorphone. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470393/. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.