Comparison study of two different patient-controlled anesthesia regiments after cardiac surgery.

Introduction: Acute and severe pain is frequent in patients who undergo cardiothoracic surgery. Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) can be used to manage postoperative pain.

Objective: To compare analgesia of morphine PCA alone without continuous infusion with morphine PCA plus a continuous infusion on postoperative period after cardiac surgery and to evaluate pain scores, morphine consumption, number of demand, patient satisfaction and side effects.