A survey of complications documented in a quality-control analysis of patient-controlled analgesia in the postoperative patient.

Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has become a cornerstone of postoperative pain management in many institutions. Despite the extensive use of this analgesic technique, there are not large population studies to determine the frequency or types of complications associated with PCA in the literature. This study looks at 1122 patients over a 1-yr period. Eight significant complications associated with PCA use were noted during this period. These complications were attributable to overdosage (escalating dosage to meet patient analgesic needs or someone other than the patient administering drug through the PCA device) or to interaction of PCA drugs with concurrent medications. There was a much higher incidence of complications associated with PCA pumps featuring continuous infusion in addition to intermittent bolus compared with those employing intermittent bolus alone. The types of complications encountered in this survey demonstrate instances of PCA use that may present a higher risk to the patient and thus require closer monitoring.