OBJECTIVE

To compare efficacy of oral versus intravenous (IV) methadone on postoperative pain and opioid requirements after spine surgery.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, single-academic center cohort study evaluating 1010 patients who underwent >3 level spine surgery from January 2017 to May 2020 and received a one-time dose of oral or intravenous methadone prior to surgery. The primary outcome measured was postoperative opioid use in oral morphine equivalents (ME) and verbal response scale (VRS) pain scores up to postoperative day (POD) three. Secondary outcomes were time to first bowel movement and adverse effects (reintubation, myocardial infarction, and QTc prolongation) up to POD 3.

RESULTS

A total of 687 patients received oral and 317 received IV methadone, six patients were excluded. The IV group received a significantly greater methadone morphine equivalent (ME) dose preoperatively (112.4 ± 83.0 mg ME versus 59.3 ± 60.9 mg ME, p < 0.001) and greater total (methadone and non-methadone) opioid dose (119.1 ± 81.4 mg ME versus 63.9 ± 62.5 mg ME, p < 0.001), intraoperatively. Although pain scores for the oral group were non-inferior to the IV group for all postoperative days (POD), non-inferiority for postoperative opioid requirements was demonstrated only on POD 3. Based on the joint hypothesis for the co-primary outcomes, oral methadone was non-inferior to IV methadone on POD 3 only. No differences in secondary outcomes, including QTc prolongation and arrhythmias, were noted between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral methadone is a feasible alternative to IV methadone for patients undergoing spine surgery regarding both pain scores and postoperative opioid consumption.