Given the prevalence of long-term breathlessness worldwide, it is essential to find safe and predictable ways to reduce the suffering of COPD patients. Sometimes opioids such as morphine are used to relieve symptoms, but whether this helps with severe chronic breathlessness remains to be studied. A randomized phase 3 double-blind study conducted by researchers from Sweden and Australia demonstrated that morphine does not reduce severe breathlessness in COPD patients.
According to the study that involved 156 patients for three weeks, low-dose morphine should not be widely used for severe long-term breathlessness as a treatment option for chronic, activity-limiting shortness of breath. Although the study didn’t report that morphine doesn’t provide any relief to patients with severe shortness of breath at rest or in palliative care at the later stage of life, clinical experience exhibits…
