Pharmacy protocol for adjusting patient-controlled analgesia.
The use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) to manage pain post-operatively is becoming increasingly popular. The potential for pharmacist involvement is larger. Traditional areas of pharmacy involvement include PCA pump evaluation and selection, choice of narcotic-analgesic to be used, education of other health care professionals on PCA use, and development of PCA protocol guidelines. Monitoring post-operative pain and adjusting the PCA dosage are not traditional areas of pharmacist involvement. The purpose of this report is to describe a protocol which allows hospital pharmacists in an inpatient setting to adjust the PCA dose so that postoperative pain relief is maximized and sedation is minimized.
Berggren
P
P
FHP Health Care, Cypress, CA 90630.
Matsuoka
R
R
D016058:Analgesia, Patient-Controlled / Q000592:standards*; D002140:California; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D011182:Postoperative Care