Slow-release morphine treats chronic cough

HULL, England, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Slow-release morphine has helped patients with long-term, treatment-resistant chronic cough reduce their daily cough, says a British study.

Dr. Alyn H. Morice, of the University of Hull and Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire, England, and six associates enrolled 27 patients with intractable cough in an eight-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to test the use of slow-release morphine sulfate versus a placebo on their cough. Each phase lasted four weeks.

The investigators found a "rapid and highly significant reduction by 40 percent in daily cough scores by patients on slow-release morphine sulfate."

The authors noted in the study published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine that the rapid response to morphine was in contrast to the absence of any effect of placebo.

"Although acute cough is benign and self-limiting, chronic persistent cough can have a devastating effect on the quality of life of sufferers," said Morice. "This research provides evidence for the use of opiates in chronic cough."