Palliative : Opioids for Dyspnea

Anti-Emetics | Therapy for Dry Mouth (Xerostomia) | Anti-Secretory Agents | Pain Management | Wound Care Dyspnea | Prevention/Treatment of Radiation Mucositis/Proctitis | Examples of Compounded Medications

When illness is incurable or the cause is irreversible and the goal is palliation, systemic opioids are the first-line therapy for symptomatic management of dyspnea.

Palliat Med. 1997 Jul;11(4):277-81.
Oral morphine as symptomatic treatment of dyspnoea in patients with advanced cancer.
Click here to access the PubMed abstract of this article.

N Engl J Med. 1981 Dec 31;305(27):1611-6.
Effects of dihydrocodeine, alcohol, and caffeine on breathlessness and exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease and normal blood gases.
Click here to access the PubMed abstract of this article.

Education for Physicians on End-of-life Care (EPEC) Participant’s Handbook
EPEC Project, 1999. The Project to Educate Physicians on End-of-life Care from the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association.


BMJ. 2003 Sep 6;327(7414):523-8
Randomized, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial of sustained release morphine for the management of refractory dyspnoea
Click here to access the PubMed abstract of this article.