Preoperative Oral Methadone for Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: Reduction of Postoperative Pain
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Oral medications like gabapentin and acetaminophen are commonly given to patients prior to
surgery to provide balanced anaesthesia. Intravenous methadone has been shown to decrease
postoperative pain as well as postoperative nausea and vomiting, which are known barriers to
discharge. Oral methadone would be a convenient alternative to give as a preoperative
medication with its bioavailability approaching 80%. No clinical trials to date have explored
the utility of oral methadone as a preoperative analgesic to improve postoperative outcomes.
Current literature shows preoperative IV methadone reduces opioid consumption in the
perioperative period for cardiac surgeries; therefore, investigators hypothesize that
preoperative oral methadone will also reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption in
patients undergoing sternotomy for cardiac surgery.