Opioids for management of episodic breathlessness or dyspnea in patients with advanced disease.

Background: Episodic breathlessness (EB) or dyspnea is a common symptom with a very negative impact on the quality of life of patients with cancer and with non-oncological advanced diseases, mainly cardiorespiratory and neurological.

Objective: The purpose of this non-systematic review is to ascertain the role played by opioids in the management of episodic breathlessness.

Methods: A non-systematic literature review was done in the databases MEDLINE, COCHRANE, and DATABASE, and articles of greater scientific rigor, mainly reviews or prospective studies/randomized clinical trials published to date (August 2015), were selected.

Appropriateness of diagnostic effort in hospital emergency room attention for episodes of COPD exacerbation.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: To assess the adequacy of diagnostic effort in the emergency departments of Spanish hospitals with respect to episodes of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted between 2007 and 2010 in 15 hospitals in Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country. The study population included cases of COPD exacerbation attended at the emergency departments of the participating hospitals.