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Patient‐controlled analgesia: an assessment by 200 patients
Author(s) -
Chumbley G. M.,
Hall G. M.,
Salmon Peter
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2044.1998.00314.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pain control , patient satisfaction , analgesic , patient controlled analgesia , pain relief , pain management , control (management) , postoperative pain , anesthesia , physical therapy , surgery , management , economics
Two hundred patients completed a questionnaire about their experiences of patient‐controlled analgesia. The questionnaire covered the following topics: pre‐operative information, reasons for pressing and not pressing the button, pain relief, side‐effects, safety, advantages and disadvantages of patient‐controlled analgesia, worries associated with its use and control over pain. A high level of satisfaction with the device, together with a view that it afforded control over pain, emerged from replies to simple, general questions. However, more detailed questions revealed side‐effects and fears that constrained its use and hence patients' ability to control pain. Control is predominantly a feature of the professional's view of patient‐controlled analgesia, rather than the patient's experience of this analgesic technique.