Opioid therapy for refractory dyspnea in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: patients' experiences and outcomes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Dyspnea that is refractory to conventional treatments affects up to 50% of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although professional societies recommend opioids in this setting, evidence supporting their use over months is limited. We conducted a multicentre mixed-methods study to understand patients' experiences when opioids are added to optimized conventional treatments for advanced COPD.

Methods

A total of 44 patients (median age 74, range 51-89 years) agreed to participate in this 6-month study. After baseline assessments, immediate-release morphine sulfate syrup (initially 0.5 mg twice daily) was slowly titrated upward based on weekly assessments of symptoms. We conducted semistructured interviews and collected contemporaneous

SUBMITTER: Rocker GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3985973 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature