Skip to content

Postoperative Oral Methadone After Major Spine Surgery; Safety, Feasibility and Efficacy in Prevention of Progression to Chronic Opioid Usage at 3 Months

Postoperative Oral Methadone After Major Spine Surgery; Safety, Feasibility and Efficacy in Prevention of Progression to Chronic Opioid Usage at 3 Months - A Pilot Trial.

Status
Withdrawn
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05693675
Enrollment
0
Registered
2023-01-23
Start date
2023-10-01
Completion date
2024-07-01
Last updated
2025-03-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Spine Surgery

Keywords

opioids

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a clinical protocol based on the administration of intraoperative intravenous methadone followed by a short regimen of oral/IV (if the patient is not able to take oral) methadone following spine surgery and to evaluate if methadone decreases persistent opioid usage at 3 months in comparison to placebo.

Interventions

DRUGPostoperative methadone

Participants will receive intraoperative methadone (0.2 mg/kg ideal body weight intravenously but not exceeding 20mg) followed by oral/IV methadone postoperatively according to the following scheme: A) Opioid naïve patients will receive 5mg twice daily dosage of methadone on postoperative days 1 and 2 followed by 5 mg daily on postoperative days 3, 4, and 5. B) Patients taking opioids preoperatively will continue to receive their regular opioids and additionally receive 5 mg twice a day of methadone on postoperative days 1 and 2, followed by 5 mg per day on days 3, 4 and 5.

DRUGPostoperative placebo

Participants will receive intraoperative methadone intravenously 0.2mg/kg followed by oral placebo postoperatively according to the following scheme: Opioid naïve patients and patients taking opioids preoperatively will receive placebo tablets twice daily on day 1 and day 2 and once daily day 3, 4 and 5. Patients taking preoperative opioids will be able to return to their baseline opioids immediately after surgery.

PACU analgesia for both groups will be the usual care regime of fentanyl or hydromorphone bolus as prescribed by the physician anesthesiologist doing the case. All patients receive IV intravenous patient-controlled analgesia and rescue opioids which is usual care for postoperative pain.

Sponsors

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Adults undergoing multilevel complex lumbar and/or thoracic spine fusion surgery, including revision surgeries

Exclusion criteria

* BMI greater than 40

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility of study design as assessed by the number of participants for which scheduled postoperative methadone versus placebo were able to be administered according to the scheme describedDay of discharge (about 6 days after surgery)
Feasibility of study design as assessed by number of participants for which safety was able to be assessed (EKGs)postop days 1 and 5
Feasibility of study design as assessed by the number of participants for which safety was able to be assessed (respiratory events)Day of discharge (about 6 days after surgery)ability to evaluate adverse respiratory events
Feasibility of study design as assessed by the number of participants for which postop opioid usage could be surveyed at 3 months3 months after surgery

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with dizzinessby fifth day of hospital stay
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with Antiemetic useby fifth day of hospital stay
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with occurrence of nauseaby fifth day of hospital stay
Number of participants for which opioid usage was able to be collectedDay of discharge (about 6 days after surgery)
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with occurrence of Ileus or constipationby fifth day of hospital stay
Safety as assessed by the number of subjects with persistent opioid use3 months after surgeryThis is scored from 0(less than once a week) to 4(constantly, a higher number indicating more opioid use)
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with occurrence of vomitingby fifth day of hospital stay
Safety as assessed by the number of patients developing respiratory depressionby fifth day of hospital staySaturation of Oxygen(SPO2) less than 85%, Respiratory rate \<5 for longer than 3 minutes, ( Khanna et) increased oxygen requirement related to opioid-induced respiratory depression, naloxone use. The SPO2 will be monitored continuously per usual care in post anesthesia care unit (PACU) and every 4 hours in the ward.
Safety as assessed by the number of patients developing clinically significant corrected QT interval(QTc )prolongationby fifth day of hospital stayQTc interval \>500ms or \>25% increase from baseline; number of patients developing arrhythmias needed treatment
Safety as assessed by the number of participants with hallucinationsby fifth day of hospital stay

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026