Abstract
Background Painful procedures in early life cause acute pain and can alter pain processing at a spinal level lasting into adulthood. Current methods of analgesia seem unable to prevent both acute and long-term hypersensitivity associated with neonatal pain. The current study aims to prevent acute and long-term hypersensitivity associated with neonatal procedural pain using methadone analgesia in rat pups. Methods Sprague-Dawley rat pups received either methadone (1 mg/kg) or saline prior to repetitive needle pricks into the left hind paw from the day of birth (postnatal day (P)0) to P7. Control littermates received a tactile stimulus. Mechanical sensitivity was assessed during the neonatal period (P0-P7), from weaning to adulthood (3-7 weeks) and following surgical re-injury of the same dermatome in adulthood. Results Methadone administration completely reversed acute hypersensitivity from P0 to P7. In addition, neonatal methadone analgesia prevented prolonged hypersensitivity after re-injury in adulthood, without affecting sensitivity from weaning to adulthood. Conclusions The current study shows that neonatal methadone analgesia can attenuate acute as well as long-term hypersensitivity associated with neonatal procedural pain in a rat model. ImpactMethadone treatment attenuates acute and long-term hypersensitivity associated with neonatal pain in a rat model. Clinical effectiveness studies are urgently warranted to assess acute and long-term analgesic effectivity of methadone.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1681-1686 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Pediatric Research |
Volume | 89 |
Issue number | 7 |
Early online date | 27 Jan 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2021 |
Keywords
- 5-year follow-up
- analgesia
- aspartate nmda receptor
- exposure
- injury
- intensive-care
- morphine infusion
- pharmacokinetics
- plasticity
- sensitivity
- INJURY
- SENSITIVITY
- ASPARTATE NMDA RECEPTOR
- INTENSIVE-CARE
- MORPHINE INFUSION
- PHARMACOKINETICS
- 5-YEAR FOLLOW-UP
- EXPOSURE
- ANALGESIA
- PLASTICITY