Robinson JD, et al. - In patients undergoing congenital heart surgeries, researchers determined if there was a correlation between intraoperative methadone use and total perioperative opioid exposure. Seventy-four individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing surgical repair or palliative surgery were included in this retrospective, case-match cohort study. They matched 37 patients undergoing CHD surgeries receiving intraoperative methadone to 37 patients based upon age and procedure who did not receive intraoperative methadone. To compare total opioid exposure, Mann-Whitney U test was used. Compared with the matched control cohort, the methadone cohort needed fewer opioids intraoperatively in the first 12 hours postoperatively and during the first 36 hours postoperatively. Findings suggested an association of intraoperative methadone use with a reduction in perioperative opioid exposure in patients undergoing congenital heart surgery and not with adverse events or prolonged durations of mechanical ventilation or ICU stay. In addition, a dose-dependent reduction in opioid consumption in high- vs low-dose groups was not noted.