Sustained-release morphine improves breathlessness in COPD patients: JAMA

Netherlands: Oral sustained-release morphine for 4 weeks positively impacts COPD patients, suggests a recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study found that regular, low-dose, oral sustained-release morphine for 4 weeks improves health status in COPD patients without causing serious adverse effects or affecting Paco2.

Morphine is used as a palliative treatment for chronic breathlessness in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, there is scarce and conflicting evidence on respiratory adverse effects and health status. To shed light on the same, Cornelia A. Verberkt, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands, and colleagues assess the effects of regular, low-dose, oral sustained-release morphine on disease-specific health status (COPD Assessment Test; CAT), respiratory outcomes, and breathlessness in COPD patients.

The Morphine for Treatment of Dyspnea in Patients With COPD (MORDYC) study was a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study of a 4-week intervention. A total of 111 of 124 included participants were analyzed. Thye were recruited in a pulmonary rehabilitation center and 2 general hospitals after completion of a pulmonary rehabilitation program. It included outpatients with COPD and moderate to very severe chronic breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] breathlessness grades 2-4) despite optimal pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment.