Intraoperative Methadone for the Prevention of Postoperative Pain
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2024-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The pain felt after orthopedic surgery in the absence of adequate locoregional anesthesia is
often insufficiently controlled, especially during the first 24 hours postoperatively.
Methadone, due to its long half-life, may provide better pain control after orthopedic
surgery when associated locoregional anesthesia cannot be performed.
It may be impossible to perform loco-regional anesthesia in various contexts: patient
refusal, pre-existing neurological impairment, infection at the injection site,
coagulopathies, inability to cooperate, total language barrier, allergy to anesthetics,
unavailability of equipment (ultrasound, etc.) or equipped room, lack of experience of
nursing staff in performing the block and in the postoperative management of the patient.
Intraoperative administration of methadone in these settings may be superior to sufentanil
for pain control during the 24 hours post orthopedic surgery, and the pain control provided
by methadone does not appear to imply a higher likelihood of adverse events related to
opioids.