Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) is a standardized value that represents the potency of an opioid dose relative to morphine. It allows comparison of different opioid medications on a common scale. For example, 10 mg of oxycodone = 15 MME because oxycodone's conversion factor is 1.5.

CDC 2022 guidelines: < 50 MME/day is standard risk. 50–89 MME/day carries increased risk — reassess and consider adding non-opioid therapies. ≥ 90 MME/day has significantly increased overdose risk — avoid if possible or carefully justify and implement safeguards like naloxone.

No. Conversion factors are approximations meant to guide clinical decision-making. Individual patient factors (tolerance, genetics, organ function, drug interactions) affect opioid response. These factors should not be used for direct dose conversion between opioids without appropriate clinical judgment and safety reductions.

Methadone conversion is complex because the factor increases at higher doses due to its long half-life and NMDA receptor activity. The factor of 4 used here applies to doses of 1–20 mg/day. Higher doses (21–40 mg: factor 8; 41–60 mg: factor 10; >60 mg: factor 12) require specialist guidance.