Extract
To The Editor:We wish to congratulate Stewart et al. for their article, "The Effect
of Intra-Articular Methadone on Postoperative Pain Following Anterior Cruciate
Ligament Reconstruction"
(2005;87:140-4), as it showed
that intra-articular methadone in certain doses can be used safely in the
knee.The authors stated that it is known that intra-articular narcotics have
proven efficacy for providing pain relief following knee arthroscopy, but this
effect is short-lived. They hypothesized that methadone, with its long serum
half-life, could provide improved and prolonged pain relief in arthroscopic
reconstructions of the anterior cruciate ligament, but they found that
methadone does not provide improved postoperative analgesia.