Hull York Medical School, Hull, Yorkshire, UK.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Mar;43(3):614-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.04.024. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
Breathlessness or "shortness of breath," medically termed dyspnea, 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 and practical insight into design of pharmacological and nonpharmacological intervention trials in breathlessness and palliative care. This article presents the 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.
呼吸困难或“呼吸急促”，在医学上称为呼吸困难，仍然是许多人和照顾他们的人的一个严重问题。作为一种治疗干预措施，使用阿片类药物缓解呼吸困难已经取得了进展，并且有了一个证据基础。随着支持阿片类药物的证据不断积累，我们对试验方法学、研究合作以及对姑息治疗临床环境产生可靠研究结果至关重要的基础设施的集体理解也在不断增强。对迄今为止的成就进行分析，以及完成这些研究所需的条件，为进一步研究的知识空白提供了重要的见解，并为呼吸困难和姑息治疗中药物和非药物干预试验的设计提供了实际的见解。本文介绍了目前对阿片类药物治疗呼吸困难的认识，以及作为未来研究重点的未知领域，并强调了计划研究中需要考虑的方法学问题。
