Clinical trial NCT06810336: Pain Control and Quality of Recovery After Intravenous Methadone Versus Intravenous Remifentanil in Craniotomy Surgery
Official title: Pain Control and Quality of Recovery After Intravenous Methadone Versus Intravenous Remifentanil in Craniotomy Surgery
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
Conditions: Brain Injury
Brain Tumors
Craniotomy Surgery
Pain
Postoperative
Postoperative Care
Keywords: craniotomy
Lead sponsor: University of Virginia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-05
Enrollment: 40
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: a single blind study
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: Postoperative pain is prevalent after intracranial surgery. Patients undergoing craniotomy are typically managed with short acting opioids to enable early and reliable post-operative neurological exam as well as avoid the risk of respiratory depression. However, a plethora of studies have shown that a majority of these patients experience moderate to severe pain in first 48 hours after surgery. Suboptimal pain control can lead to complications such as arterial hypertension and post-operative intracranial hemorrhage, and hence, increased morbidity and mortality.

Intravenous (IV) methadone has a long analgesic half-life and has N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) properties. It has previously been shown to reduce postoperative opioid requirements, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and postoperative pain scores in patients that underwent orthopedic, abdominal, complex spine, and cardiac surgery. Similar findings have been shown in obstetric patients that underwent caesarean delivery under general anesthesia as well as patients that underwent gynecologic surgery and received IV methadone intraoperatively.

In a recently published retrospective study, a single intraoperative dose of IV methadone was well tolerated with lower pain scores as well as MME (oral morphine milligram equivalents) requirements for up to 72 hours after elective intracranial surgery.

IV methadone has, however, never been compared with conventional management via IV remifentanil for functional recovery in patients undergoing elective intercranial surgery.

The investigator's hypothesis is that intravenous (IV) methadone is non-inferior to IV remifentanil in patients who undergo elective intracranial surgery. It offers the advantage of being a single dose noninvasive analgesic modality that may contribute to decreasing MME consumption during the first 72 hours postoperatively, controlling postoperative pain, and improving quality of recovery after surgery.

Detailed description: Postoperative pain is prevalent after intracranial surgery. Patients undergoing craniotomy are typically managed with short acting opioids to enable early and reliable post-operative neurological exam as well as avoid the risk of respiratory depression. However, a plethora of studies have shown that a majority of these patients experience moderate to severe pain in first 48 hours after surgery. Suboptimal pain control can lead to complications such as arterial hypertension and post-operative intracranial hemorrhage, and hence, increased morbidity and mortality.

Intravenous (IV) methadone has a long analgesic half-life and has N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) properties. It has previously been shown to reduce postoperative opioid requirements, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and postoperative pain scores in patients that underwent orthopedic, abdominal, complex spine, and cardiac surgery. Similar findings have been shown in obstetric patients that underwent caesarean delivery under general anesthesia as well as patients that underwent gynecologic surgery and received IV methadone intraoperatively.

In a recently published retrospective study, a single intraoperative dose of IV methadone was well tolerated with lower pain scores as well as MME (oral morphine milligram equivalents) requirements for up to 72 hours after elective intracranial surgery.

IV methadone has, however, never been compared with conventional management via IV remifentanil for functional recovery in patients undergoing elective intercranial surgery.

The investigator's hypothesis is that intravenous (IV) methadone is non-inferior to IV remifentanil in patients who undergo elective intracranial surgery. It offers the advantage of being a single dose noninvasive analgesic modality that may contribute to decreasing MME consumption during the first 72 hours postoperatively, controlling postoperative pain, and improving quality of recovery after surgery.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Adult Patients between ages 18 and 65 years old.
2. Undergoing supratentorial intracranial surgery
3. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physiological status I-III
4. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 45
5. Ability to understand and read English

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Being unable or unwilling to sign a consent
2. Anticipated discharge within 24 hours after surgery
3. Patients requiring Emergent Surgery
4. Preoperative usage of Methadone, or allergy to it.
5. Patients with chronic pain, requiring daily opioid use at the time of surgery, MME \>60 as FDA defines opioid tolerant as 60 MME, long-acting forms of opioids such as fentanyl patch, oxycontin
6. Active or Prior Substance Use Disorder, undergoing active treatment with Medication of Opioid Use Disorder including methadone (once daily dosing), Buprenorphine (any formulation) and Naltrexone
7. Preoperative chronic renal insufficiency or failure (defined as a serum creatinine more than 2 mg/dl),
8. Pregnancy
9. Significant liver disease (cirrhosis or hepatic failure)
10. QTc \>450 on preoperative electrocardiogram
11. Pulmonary disease necessitating home oxygen therapy
12. Inability to speak or read the English language

Primary outcomes:
measure: Quality of recovery after surgery on postoperative day 1,2,3 using QoR-15 psychometrical questionnaire (range 0-150).
timeFrame: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Morphine Milligram Equivalent
timeFrame: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours
measure: Numeric Rating scale (NRS) pain scores (0-10) as noted over post-operative day 0, 1, 2, and 3.
timeFrame: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours
measure: Overall Benefits of Analgesic Score (OBAS) as noted over post-operative day 0, 1, 2, and 3.
timeFrame: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours
measure: Complications and side effects as noted over post-operative day 0, 1, 2, and 3.
timeFrame: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours
measure: Length of Stay in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)
timeFrame: 0 hours, 24 hours
measure: Length of Stay in Hospital
timeFrame: From day of surgery to hospital discharge, expected to range from 5 to 10 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Charlottesville
country: United States
facility: University of Virginia
state: Virginia
Study officials:
References:
citation: Russell T, Mitchell C, Paech MJ, Pavy T. Efficacy and safety of intraoperative intravenous methadone during general anaesthesia for caesarean delivery: a retrospective case-control study. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2013 Jan;22(1):47-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2012.10.007. Epub 2012 Dec 7.
citation: Murphy GS, Szokol JW, Avram MJ, Greenberg SB, Marymont JH, Shear T, Parikh KN, Patel SS, Gupta DK. Intraoperative Methadone for the Prevention of Postoperative Pain: A Randomized, Double-blinded Clinical Trial in Cardiac Surgical Patients. Anesthesiology. 2015 May;122(5):1112-22. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000633.
citation: Gottschalk A, Durieux ME, Nemergut EC. Intraoperative methadone improves postoperative pain control in patients undergoing complex spine surgery. Anesth Analg. 2011 Jan;112(1):218-23. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181d8a095. Epub 2010 Apr 24.
citation: Gourlay GK, Wilson PR, Glynn CJ. Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of methadone during the perioperative period. Anesthesiology. 1982 Dec;57(6):458-67. doi: 10.1097/00000542-198212000-00005. No abstract available.
citation: Mancini I, Lossignol DA, Body JJ. Opioid switch to oral methadone in cancer pain. Curr Opin Oncol. 2000 Jul;12(4):308-13. doi: 10.1097/00001622-200007000-00006.
citation: Kharasch ED. Intraoperative methadone: rediscovery, reappraisal, and reinvigoration? Anesth Analg. 2011 Jan;112(1):13-6. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181fec9a3. No abstract available.
citation: Basali A, Mascha EJ, Kalfas I, Schubert A. Relation between perioperative hypertension and intracranial hemorrhage after craniotomy. Anesthesiology. 2000 Jul;93(1):48-54. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200007000-00012.
citation: Molnar L, Simon E, Nemes R, Fulesdi B, Molnar C. Postcraniotomy headache. J Anesth. 2014 Feb;28(1):102-11. doi: 10.1007/s00540-013-1671-z. Epub 2013 Jul 12.
citation: Tsaousi GG, Logan SW, Bilotta F. Postoperative Pain Control Following Craniotomy: A Systematic Review of Recent Clinical Literature. Pain Pract. 2017 Sep;17(7):968-981. doi: 10.1111/papr.12548. Epub 2017 Feb 23.
citation: Mordhorst C, Latz B, Kerz T, Wisser G, Schmidt A, Schneider A, Jahn-Eimermacher A, Werner C, Engelhard K. Prospective assessment of postoperative pain after craniotomy. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2010 Jul;22(3):202-6. doi: 10.1097/ANA.0b013e3181df0600.
citation: Flexman AM, Ng JL, Gelb AW. Acute and chronic pain following craniotomy. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2010 Oct;23(5):551-7. doi: 10.1097/ACO.0b013e32833e15b9.
citation: De Benedittis G, Lorenzetti A, Migliore M, Spagnoli D, Tiberio F, Villani RM. Postoperative pain in neurosurgery: a pilot study in brain surgery. Neurosurgery. 1996 Mar;38(3):466-9; discussion 469-70. doi: 10.1097/00006123-199603000-00008.
citation: Gottschalk A, Berkow LC, Stevens RD, Mirski M, Thompson RE, White ED, Weingart JD, Long DM, Yaster M. Prospective evaluation of pain and analgesic use following major elective intracranial surgery. J Neurosurg. 2007 Feb;106(2):210-6. doi: 10.3171/jns.2007.106.2.210.
citation: Vandse R, Vacaru A, Propp D, Graf J, Sran JK, Pillai P. Retrospective Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Intraoperative Methadone for Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Elective Intracranial Surgery. World Neurosurg. 2023 Jul;175:e969-e975. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.04.053. Epub 2023 Apr 19.