PubMed · 14525830
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Wolfgang Lederer, Arnulf Benzer. 2003. Programming errors from patient-controlled analgesia.. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03019388
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Pain control following painful orthopaedic procedures such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an ongoing challenge, as current pain management techniques often result in under-medication and/or complications. In a study designed to test the effect of the micro-current skin patch (MCT) on pain relief in patients following TKA, we followed 24 patients, randomly divided into two groups, one group receiving MCT plus tramadol hydrochloride (tramadol) for pain relief and a control group receiving only tramadol, for 10 days postoperatively. Tramadol was given intramuscularly in increment doses of 100 mg, as needed, for the duration of the study period. Pain was assessed daily using a visual analogue score (VAS). Other parameters, including the effect of MCT on the dose of tramadol needed for pain relief, the degree of wound healing measured at the end of the follow-up period, category of the wound 10 days postoperatively (1, 2 or 3) and total drain fluid volume, were also assessed. During the 10-day postoperative period there was a progressive decrease in pain in patients of both groups, however the patients of the MCT group showed a consistently lower VAS throughout the observation period, most markedly on those follow-up days with the highest pain scores in patients of the control group. This effect was monitored on the basis of the average dose of tramadol administered per day: 200.0+/-7.0 mg/day in the control group and 63.3+/-15.8 mg/day in the MCT group. Wound healing was better with the application of the MCT patch: grade 1 wounds were observed in 50% of the patients of the MCT group as compared to 8.3% in control group. The total drain volume was lower in patients of the MCT group compared to the controls (1020.8+/-211.6 and 1170.8+/-243.5 ml, respectively). None of the patients indicated that they wished to discontinue MCT therapy. This pilot study shows that MCT therapy led to better pain control with a markedly lower need for tramadol as compared to the control group. This better pain control was accompanied by a better healing of the wound and a lower drain volume.
PURPOSE: The properties, performance, and applications of nonelectric disposable infusion pumps are reviewed. SUMMARY: All nonelectric disposable infusion pumps exploit the same physical principle: mechanical restriction within the flow path determines the speed of pressurized fluid. The pressure generated by disposable pumps on fluid is 250-600 mm Hg, compared with 5-1200 mm Hg of pressure for electric pumps. There are several types of disposable infusion pumps, including elastomeric, positive-pressure (spring-powered and gas-pressure-powered), negative-pressure (vacuum), and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps. The accuracy of each pump's flow rate is dependent on several factors, including temperature, fluid viscosity, atmospheric pressure, back pressure, partial filling, and storage. Disposable infusion pumps can be used in many areas, including home care, PCA, patient-controlled epidural analgesia, continuous peripheral analgesia, continuous epidural analgesia, continuous i.v. analgesia, and pediatrics applications. The advantages of disposable infusion pumps include their light weight, small size, simplicity of use, independence from an external power supply, elimination of programming errors, and disposability. Disadvantages include the possibility of inaccurate flow rates, fixed reservoir volume, lack of a facility to change the flow rate and bolus-dose volume to provide adequate analgesia, inability to trace the history of the analgesia demand by patients, inability to combine PCA with background continuous infusions, and long-term cost. CONCLUSION: Despite some disadvantages and limited areas of applicability, disposable infusion pumps provide patients with advantages, such as portability, simplicity, and disposability, especially for the administration of analgesia. Understanding their physical and mechanical characteristics and their appropriate application may optimize patient care.
PURPOSE: Despite the growing movement in acute pain management, acute postoperative pain continues to be undermanaged. Although numerous clinical practice guidelines for pain management have been published throughout the last 12 years, inadequate pain relief remains a significant health care issue. Insufficient dosage of analgesics is a common problem, and therapy for those patients still with pain represents a considerable health care dilemma. SUMMARY: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) refers to a process in which patients determine when and how much medication they receive, regardless of analgesic technique. Patient-controlled modalities using intravenous (i.v.) and epidural routes have dramatically improved postoperative pain management. PCA has emerged as an effective way for patients to manage their pain, allowing self-administration of small doses of analgesics to maintain a certain level of pain control. PCA is most commonly delivered via an intravenous or epidural route, and while patient satisfaction is higher with PCA than with conventional methods of analgesic administration, the invasiveness, costs, health care resources, and risk of errors associated with currently available modalities may limit their utility. The overall effectiveness of any analgesic technique depends on both the degree of pain relief and the incidence of side effects or complications. These adverse events of acute pain complicate postoperative recovery and may lead to longer hospital stays, as well as increased health care costs. Several new PCA modalities are being developed to address these limitations. These systems deliver drugs through a variety of routes (for example, transdermal). Most notable is a self-contained, credit card-sized fentanyl transdermal patient-activated system. It provides pain relief therapeutically equivalent to that of standard regimen of morphine i.v. PCA, with pharmacokinetics similar to those of intravenous fentanyl infusion. Fentanyl HCl patient-activated transdermal systems (PATS) may be an effective, noninvasive alternative to currently available i.v. PCA modalities. Whichever drug or device is utilized, the overall success relies on the expert supervision of nurses, pharmacists, and anesthesiologists in an acute pain service. CONCLUSION: Current PCA techniques using i.v. or epidural administration have limitations. Development of new technology offering alternative routes for PCA administration is at the forefronts of PCA research.