Patent Document ID: 20050084523
Application ID: 10927145
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. An opioid formulation for use in a method of providing analgesia to a patient while avoiding toxicity; said method comprising continuously inhaling the formulation using a pulmonary drug delivery device to produce analgesia, and stopping inhalation when satisfactory analgesia is achieved or at the onset of a side effect; said pulmonary drug delivery device being adapted to deposit particles of the formulation in the lungs at an effective rate; said formulation comprising an effective amount of at least one rapid-onset opioid and at least one sustained-effect opioid, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, the concentration and type of each opioid being selected so that, during inhalation, analgesia is achieved before the onset of said side effect, and the onset of said side effect occurs before the onset of toxicity, and so that the maximum opioid plasma concentration does not reach toxic levels, whereby the onset of said side effect can be used by the patient to terminate inhalation to avoid toxicity.