On 6 June at 14:00, Camilla Gaarsdal Uhrbrand defends her PhD dissertation entitled "The effect of intraoperative methadone on postoperative opioid requirements and pain".

Managing pain after surgery is challenging, particularly in light of growing attention to reducing opioid use. The curremt PhD project is investigating whehter methadone, with a long half-life, has the potential to offer a more stable pain relief following surgery, andreducing the need for fast-acting opioids.

This PhD thesis consists of three randomized clinical trials aimed at investigating the effect of intraoperative methadone on opioid consumption and postoperative pain in 1) patients with bladder cancer undergoing bladder removal, 2) children undergoing testicular fixation surgery, and 3) patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery.

The main findings of the project show that intraoperative methadone demonstrates potential as an opioid-sparing analgesic in children; however, it does not appear to be superior to morphine in the assessed cohorts. Further research is needed to explore optimal dosing, timing, and patient selection to clarify methadone’s role in postoperative pain management.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place at Aarhus University Hospital, Auditorium J116-113. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Camilla Gaarsdal Uhrbrand
Mail: camgaa@rm.dk
Phone: 23956082

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