Prescription opioid use in advanced COPD: benefits, perils and controversies

Abstract

We thank N.T. Vozoris for his comments and interest in the case report that we presented in the European Respiratory Journal of a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who experienced respiratory depression after inadvertent opioid overdose while using opioids to manage refractory breathlessness [1]. The use of opioids to treat refractory breathlessness requires careful evaluation of risks and benefits http://ow.ly/ylHT30bPzfu