Breathlessness frequently becomes severe among people with respiratory disease. Mirtazapine, a widely used antidepressant, has shown promise in the modulation of respiratory sensation and the response to it, as well as reducing feelings of panic, which often accompanies breathlessness. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of mirtazapine to alleviate severe persisting breathlessness.

Mirtazapine to alleviate severe breathlessness in patients with COPD or interstitial lung diseases (BETTER-B): an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 mixed-method trial