Breathlessness or “shortness of breath”, medically termed dyspnoea, remains a devastating
problem for many people and those who care for them. As a treatment intervention,
administration of opioids to relieve breathlessness is an area where progress has been made
with the development of an evidence base. As evidence in support of opioids has
accumulated, so has our collective understanding about trial methodology, research
collaboration and infrastructure that is crucial to generate reliable research results for
palliative care clinical settings.
Analysis of achievements to date and what it takes to accomplish these studies provides
important insights into knowledge gaps needing further research as well as practical insight
into design of pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention trials in breathlessness
and palliative care.
This paper presents current understanding of opioids for treating breathlessness, what is still
unknown as priorities for future research and highlights methodological issues for
consideration in planned studies.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial,
or not-for-profit sectors
