Is subcutaneous methadone a thing?

Spoiler alert - you need to listen to this podcast to understand if there is a place for subcutaneous methadone in veterinary clinical practice!

In this edition, Matt reviews the first paper that investigated pharmacokinetics of subcutaneous methadone and first raised the question of using this route in dogs. Matt then chats to anaesthesia specialist Aoife Ryan about a study they performed together to attempt to enhance our understanding around this topic. With Carl, we then chat through a recent publication examining this route of administration in dogs.

For more on methadone, please see our pain update 'Methadone, the most versatile opioid' here

https://www.zeropainphilosophy.com/post/methadone-the-most-versatile-opioid

Need more detail? You can watch this webinar on methadone

https://www.zeropainphilosophy.com/members-webinars

References discussed in this podcast

Bini G, Vettorato E, De Gennaro C, Corletto F. A retrospective comparison of two analgesic strategies after uncomplicated tibial plateau levelling osteotomy in dogs. Vet Anaesth Analg. 2018 Jul;45(4):557-565. doi: 10.1016/j.vaa.2017.11.005.

Ingvast-Larsson C, Holgersson A, Bondesson U, Lagerstedt AS, Olsson K. Clinical pharmacology of methadone in dogs. Vet Anaesth Analg. 2010 Jan;37(1):48-56. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2995.2009.00476.x.

Ryan AC, Murrell JC, Gurney MA. Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) observed in a clinical study designed to assess the analgesic effects of intravenous and subcutaneous methadone in dogs. Vet J. 2022 Sep;287:105876. doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2022.105876.

Upchurch D, Lin KTT, KuKanich B. Two doses of subcutaneous methadone for postoperative analgesia in dogs undergoing tibial plateau levelling osteotomies. J Small Anim Pract. 2024 Jun;65(6):368-375. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13728.