Pediheart Podcast # 119: Intraoperative Methadone Reduces Opiod Usage During And After Congenital Heart Surgery

Summary: This week we enter the world of cardiovascular anesthesiology to review a recent work from Duke University on the results of the use of IV methadone during cardiac surgery in children. Does this agent result in reductions in postoperative opioid usage while affording similar analgesia? What are the advantages of this agent in this setting? How much should the cardiologist worry about the impact of methadone on the QT interval? We speak with the first author of this work, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at UNC, Dr. Annika Barnett. doi: 10.1111/pan.13903