How surgery affects people taking medications for opioid use disorder
The Impact of Surgery on Outcomes for Patients taking Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
This project looks at whether keeping or stopping opioid-use disorder medications around surgery changes pain control, opioid use, and staying in treatment for people on buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11110499 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you take buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone and need surgery, this project follows people like you to compare outcomes when those medicines are continued versus stopped around the time of the operation. The team will collect clinical data from surgeries and follow patients afterward to track pain control, opioid prescriptions and use, treatment retention, and overdose or relapse events. The work aims to use larger, more rigorous samples than prior small or non-surgical studies and to measure outcomes that matter to patients and clinicians. Results are intended to inform safer perioperative care and clearer guidance for people on medications for opioid use disorder.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with opioid use disorder who are currently taking buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone and who are planning or undergoing surgery would be the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who are not on medications for opioid use disorder or who do not need surgery are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to clearer, safer guidance about whether to continue MOUD around surgery, improving pain control and reducing relapse or overdose risk.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have been small, non-surgical, or limited, so this larger, perioperative-focused approach is relatively novel and addresses gaps in existing evidence.
Where this research is happening
Ann Arbor, United States
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nguyen, Thuy Dieu — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Nguyen, Thuy Dieu
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.