The Clinical journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of patient-controlled analgesia and bolus PRN intravenous morphine in the intensive care environment.
We compared the use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine and p.r.n. intravenous morphine in an intensive care unit setting. Thirty-eight patients scheduled for admission to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) were prospectively randomized to either a PCA group or a p.r.n. intravenous morphine group. ⋯ PCA was found to be comparable in safety and efficacy to nurse-administered morphine in the intensive care environment. An unexpected finding was the higher initial morphine utilization seen in the patients utilizing PCA.