Morphine in Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Summary

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of morphine (a drug commonly used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, particularly following surgery) on the number of pauses in breathing in patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Morphine has been shown to reduce upper airway muscle tone and can also cause shallow breathing, which can affect breathing function in patients with sleep apnoea. However, to date these effects have not been proven in clinical trials. Although, caution is advised when prescribing morphine to patients with sleep apnoea, there is currently no strong evidence that morphine makes sleep apnoea worse. Only one randomised controlled trial (considered the gold standard in medical research) has shown no worsening of symptoms for patients with sleep apnoea. The effect of morphine on patients with sleep apnoea will be assessed in a safe, controlled, hospital environment. Information from the study will help inform doctors about the safety of giving morphine to patients with sleep apnoea in urgent situations, for example after surgery. The results of this study will enable clinicians to make better decisions when prescribing this drug to patients with OSA in the future.

Timeline

Start

2016-05-20

Primary completion

2017-11-04

Completion

2018-06-06

Publications

• Background Beloeil H, Delage N, Negre I, Mazoit JX, Benhamou D. The median effective dose of nefopam and morphine administered intravenously for postoperative pain after minor surgery: a prospective randomized double-blinded isobolographic study of their analgesic action. Anesth Analg. 2004 Feb;98(2):395-400. doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000093780.67532.95.
• Background Bernards CM, Knowlton SL, Schmidt DF, DePaso WJ, Lee MK, McDonald SB, Bains OS. Respiratory and sleep effects of remifentanil in volunteers with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Anesthesiology. 2009 Jan;110(1):41-9. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e318190b501.
• Background Boldt J, Thaler E, Lehmann A, Papsdorf M, Isgro F. RETRACTED: Pain management in cardiac surgery patients: comparison between standard therapy and patient-controlled analgesia regimen. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 1998 Dec;12(6):654-8. doi: 10.1016/s1053-0770(98)90237-3.
• Background Brown KA, Laferriere A, Moss IR. Recurrent hypoxemia in young children with obstructive sleep apnea is associated with reduced opioid requirement for analgesia. Anesthesiology. 2004 Apr;100(4):806-10; discussion 5A. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200404000-00009.
• Background Catley DM, Thornton C, Jordan C, Lehane JR, Royston D, Jones JG. Pronounced, episodic oxygen desaturation in the postoperative period: its association with ventilatory pattern and analgesic regimen. Anesthesiology. 1985 Jul;63(1):20-8. doi: 10.1097/00000542-198507000-00004.
• Background Dimsdale JE, Norman D, DeJardin D, Wallace MS. The effect of opioids on sleep architecture. J Clin Sleep Med. 2007 Feb 15;3(1):33-6.
• Background Duran J, Esnaola S, Rubio R, Iztueta A. Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea and related clinical features in a population-based sample of subjects aged 30 to 70 yr. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001 Mar;163(3 Pt 1):685-9. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.163.3.2005065.
• Background Esclamado RM, Glenn MG, McCulloch TM, Cummings CW. Perioperative complications and risk factors in the surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Laryngoscope. 1989 Nov;99(11):1125-9. doi: 10.1288/00005537-198911000-00004.
• Background Gross JB, Bachenberg KL, Benumof JL, Caplan RA, Connis RT, Cote CJ, Nickinovich DG, Prachand V, Ward DS, Weaver EM, Ydens L, Yu S; American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Perioperative Management. Practice guidelines for the perioperative management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Perioperative Management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Anesthesiology. 2006 May;104(5):1081-93; quiz 1117-8. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200605000-00026. No abstract available.
• Background Kohler M, Stoewhas AC, Ayers L, Senn O, Bloch KE, Russi EW, Stradling JR. Effects of continuous positive airway pressure therapy withdrawal in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Nov 15;184(10):1192-9. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201106-0964OC.
• Background Koo, CY. Respiratory effects of opioids in perioperative medicine. The Open Anesthesiology Journal (Suppl 1-M6):23-4. 2011.
• Background Kushida CA, Littner MR, Morgenthaler T, Alessi CA, Bailey D, Coleman J Jr, Friedman L, Hirshkowitz M, Kapen S, Kramer M, Lee-Chiong T, Loube DL, Owens J, Pancer JP, Wise M. Practice parameters for the indications for polysomnography and related procedures: an update for 2005. Sleep. 2005 Apr;28(4):499-521. doi: 10.1093/sleep/28.4.499.
• Background Mogri M, Desai H, Webster L, Grant BJ, Mador MJ. Hypoxemia in patients on chronic opiate therapy with and without sleep apnea. Sleep Breath. 2009 Mar;13(1):49-57. doi: 10.1007/s11325-008-0208-4. Epub 2008 Aug 6.
• Background Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea/Hypopnoea Syndrome in Adults. A national clinical guideline. (Guideline Number 73). 2003.
• Background Ostermeier AM, Roizen MF, Hautkappe M, Klock PA, Klafta JM. Three sudden postoperative respiratory arrests associated with epidural opioids in patients with sleep apnea. Anesth Analg. 1997 Aug;85(2):452-60. doi: 10.1097/00000539-199708000-00037. No abstract available.
• Background Shaw IR, Lavigne G, Mayer P, Choiniere M. Acute intravenous administration of morphine perturbs sleep architecture in healthy pain-free young adults: a preliminary study. Sleep. 2005 Jun;28(6):677-82. doi: 10.1093/sleep/28.6.677.
• Background American Pain Society. Principles of analgesic use in the treatment of acute pain and cancer pain. 1999.
• Background Stradling J, Smith D, Radulovacki M, Carley D. Effect of ondansetron on moderate obstructive sleep apnoea, a single night, placebo-controlled trial. J Sleep Res. 2003 Jun;12(2):169-70. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2869.2003.00342.x. No abstract available.
• Background Wang D, Teichtahl H, Drummer O, Goodman C, Cherry G, Cunnington D, Kronborg I. Central sleep apnea in stable methadone maintenance treatment patients. Chest. 2005 Sep;128(3):1348-56. doi: 10.1378/chest.128.3.1348.
• Background Webster LR, Choi Y, Desai H, Webster L, Grant BJ. Sleep-disordered breathing and chronic opioid therapy. Pain Med. 2008 May-Jun;9(4):425-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2007.00343.x.
• Background Yarmush J, D'Angelo R, Kirkhart B, O'Leary C, Pitts MC 2nd, Graf G, Sebel P, Watkins WD, Miguel R, Streisand J, Maysick LK, Vujic D. A comparison of remifentanil and morphine sulfate for acute postoperative analgesia after total intravenous anesthesia with remifentanil and propofol. Anesthesiology. 1997 Aug;87(2):235-43. doi: 10.1097/00000542-199708000-00009.
• Background Young T, Evans L, Finn L, Palta M. Estimation of the clinically diagnosed proportion of sleep apnea syndrome in middle-aged men and women. Sleep. 1997 Sep;20(9):705-6. doi: 10.1093/sleep/20.9.705.
• Background Young T, Palta M, Dempsey J, Skatrud J, Weber S, Badr S. The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults. N Engl J Med. 1993 Apr 29;328(17):1230-5. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199304293281704.

Drugs

Indications