Nebulized morphine for relief of dyspnea due to chronic lung disease.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nebulized morphine for the management of dyspnea in chronic pulmonary diseases.


METHODS
MEDLINE (1966-May 2004), EMBASE (1980-May 2004), and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-May 2004) searches were performed. Key search terms included morphine, dyspnea, and inhalation.


RESULTS
Nine studies have evaluated the efficacy of nebulized morphine in relieving dyspnea. Three trials had positive results, but the rest failed to show improvement after treatment with doses ranging from 1 to 40 mg nebulized morphine. The small number of subjects, variety of disease states, and different outcome measures limit interpretation of the studies.


CONCLUSIONS
Results from several small studies do not support the use of nebulized morphine for treatment of dyspnea; however, several positive case reports have been published.
Brown
Sherrill J
SJ
College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812-1522, USA. sherrill.brown@umontana.edu
Eichner
Samantha F
SF
Jones
Jennifer R
JR
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009330:Nebulizers and Vaporizers; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D009020:Morphine