Patient-controlled analgesia in postoperative pain: the relation of psychological factors to pain and analgesic use.

The surgical experience is often characterized by fear, stress, and pain. Whenever an individual has to confront a painful or stressful event such as surgery, the individual's opportunity to control some aspect of the situation may actually influence the degree of pain experienced. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is a relatively new method of analgesic administration that allows the postoperative patient to self-administer analgesic drug. The present study examined the relationship of psychological variables, including anxiety, depression, coping strategies, and social support, to pain and PCA use in a sample of 80 adults who underwent orthopaedic surgeries. Regression analyses controlling for age and type of opioid revealed that the psychological measures were important predictors of pain and PCA use. Patients with higher anxiety levels and less social support had higher postoperative pain and made more frequent PCA demands.