Controlling postoperative pain with patient-controlled analgesia.
Patient-controlled analgesia is an innovative method of pain control that is being used with increasing frequency in postoperative patients. Besides affording patients a sense of control over their pain, the method seems to offer superior pain relief with less sedation compared with traditional methods. Nurses report that valuable patient care time is saved when complicated negotiations among nurses, patients, and physicians regarding pain management are eliminated, and tasks such as signing out and preparing analgesic injections are no longer necessary. A review of the method is presented.
Collier
M
M
Department of Surgical Nursing, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012646:Self Administration
D000700:Analgesics