Oral Methadone in Cardiac Surgery (OMICS)

October 27, 2026 updated by: Krishnan Ramanujan, Mayo Clinic

Oral Methadone In Cardiac Surgery

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of administration of oral methadone preoperatively and intravenous methadone upon induction of general anesthesia on postoperative pain for patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

100

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Undergoing elective cardiac surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Chronic pain requiring opioid medications as an outpatient
  • Opioid use disorder on medication assistance treatment
  • Prolonged QTc >500ms
  • Chronic kidney disease with eGFR < 30mL/min
  • Documented cirrhosis
  • Intolerance to methadone
  • Admitted inpatient in an intensive care unit (ICU) immediately prior to surgery
  • Pregnancy at the time of surgery
  • Subsequent surgeries after index surgery

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Intravenous methadone intraoperatively

Subjects in the IV methadone arm will receive methadone intravenously during cardiac surgery

Patients will receive 0.3mg/kg methadone intravenously after induction of general anesthesia

Experimental: Oral methadone, immediately prior to transport

Subjects in the oral methadone arm will receive methadone orally prior to cardiac surgery

Patients will receive 0.4mg/kg PO methadone immediately prior to transport to the operating room

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Amount of opioid medication used 72 hours post-extubation
Time Frame: From hospital admission for surgery to 72 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively

Opioid medication used at 72 hours post-extubation will be reported in morphine milligram equivalents

From hospital admission for surgery to 72 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Amount of opioid medication used 24 hours post-extubation
Time Frame: From hospital admission for surgery to 24 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively

Opioid medication used at 24 hours post-extubation will be reported in morphine milligram equivalents

From hospital admission for surgery to 24 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively
Amount of opioid medication used 48 hours post-extubation
Time Frame: From hospital admission for surgery to 48 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively

Opioid medication used at 48 hours post-extubation will be reported in morphine milligram equivalents

From hospital admission for surgery to 48 hours after the patient is extubated postoperatively
Amount of opioid medication required throughout hospitalization
Time Frame: From the time the patient is extubated until the time the patient leaves the hospital, approximately 10 days. Safety to leave the hospital is determined by the cardiac surgery team and can be several days after surgery or longer.

Opioid medication required from extubation until hospital discharge will be reported in morphine milligram equivalents

From the time the patient is extubated until the time the patient leaves the hospital, approximately 10 days. Safety to leave the hospital is determined by the cardiac surgery team and can be several days after surgery or longer.
Amount of opioid medication required prior to extubation
Time Frame: From arrival in the ICU until extubation, approximately 6 hours. Safety of extubation is determined by the intensive care unit team and usually occurs within several hours of ICU arrival, although this can be variable.

Opioid medication required between the end of surgery and extubation will be documented in morphine milligram equivalents.

From arrival in the ICU until extubation, approximately 6 hours. Safety of extubation is determined by the intensive care unit team and usually occurs within several hours of ICU arrival, although this can be variable.
Pain scores after extubation
Time Frame: 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours after extubation

Pain will be assessed by nursing staff using a numerical rating scale from 0-10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain imaginable.

6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours after extubation
Time to extubation
Time Frame: From the time the patient arrives in the ICU intubated until the time they are successfully extubated, approximately 12 hours. Safety of extubation is determined by the ICU team and usually occurs within several hours, although this can be variable.

This outcome will monitor the time in minutes from when a patient arrives in the ICU to the time the breathing tube is removed (extubation).

From the time the patient arrives in the ICU intubated until the time they are successfully extubated, approximately 12 hours. Safety of extubation is determined by the ICU team and usually occurs within several hours, although this can be variable.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Krishnan Ramanujan, M.D., Mayo Clinic

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 22, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

October 25, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 25, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

October 28, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 27, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 25-007292

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.