Intravenous Methadone in Perioperative Acute and Chronic Management in Chinese Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients

Despite modern day improvements in pain treatment and availability of different analgesic modalities, suboptimal postoperative pain control remains an issue in cardiac surgical patients. Poorly controlled acute postoperative pain is associated with adverse physiological outcomes that impair the recovery of cardiac surgical patients. It is associated with decreased patient satisfaction, delayed postoperative ambulation, and the development of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP). Intravenous opioids such as fentanyl and morphine have been the mainstay of perioperative analgesia for cardiac surgery, either by intermittent boluses by healthcare staff or through a patient-controlled device (PCA). The primary problem with this mechanism of delivery is that significant fluctuations in serum opioid concentrations can occur, resulting in effects which range from inadequate analgesia to overdose and respiratory depression. In contrast to intermittent administration of short-acting opioids such as morphine and fentanyl, a single dose administration of methadone can be considered.

NCT Number	NCT05913284
Lead Sponsor	Chinese University of Hong Kong
Conditions	Pain, Postoperative, Pain, Acute, Pain, Chronic, Anesthesia
Enrollment	86 participants
Start Date	2024-01-15
Primary Completion	2026-02-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-04-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-03-27