RT Book, Section A1 Ciccone, Charles D. SR Print(0) ID 1180855401 T1 Patient-Controlled Analgesia T2 Pharmacology in Rehabilitation YR 2016 FD 2016 PB F. A. Davis Company PP New York, NY SN 9780803640290 LK fadavispt.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1180855401 RD 2024/03/28 AB Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) was first introduced into clinical practice in the early 1980s as an alternative way to administer analgesic medications. The basic principle behind PCA is that the patient can self-administer small doses of the drug (usually an opioid) at relatively frequent intervals to provide optimal pain relief.1 These small doses are typically delivered intravenously or into the spinal canal by some type of machine (i.e., pump) that is controlled by the patient. Patient-controlled analgesia has several advantages over more traditional dosing regimens. In particular, PCA systems allow the patient to better match his or her need for analgesic medication to the dose to treat a specific amount of pain at any given point in time—that is, as pain fluctuates, the patient can self-administer more or less drug to provide the appropriate level of anesthesia. PCA therefore provides equivalent or increased analgesic effects with better patient satisfaction compared to conventional analgesia.2,3 This has generated increased use of PCA in a variety of clinical situations. For instance, PCA systems are used to help manage acute pain following surgery, and they are used to treat pain in patients with cancer and other conditions associated with chronic pain.4,5