BMJ  2003;327 (6 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7414.0-a

Morphine improves intractable dyspnoea

Morphine can provide added relief to patients who have intractable breathlessness even though they are receiving maximal treatment for its underlying causes. In a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover study in 38 patients with predominantly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Abernethy and colleagues (p 523) showed that 20 mg of sustained release morphine daily improved dyspnoea scores by 7-10%, without respiratory depression or serious side effects. The authors state that the use of opioids in the management of intractable breathlessness has been controversial.

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Relevant Article

Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial of sustained release morphine for the management of refractory dyspnoea

Amy P Abernethy, David C Currow, Peter Frith, Belinda S Fazekas, Annie McHugh, and Chuong Bui
BMJ 2003 327: 523-528. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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