Intrathecal + PCA morphine improves analgesia during the first 24 hr after major abdominal surgery compared to PCA alone.

Purpose: To compare, over a 48-hr follow-up period, the analgesia and side-effects of patient controlled iv analgesia (PCA) with morphine alone vs combined intrathecal and PCA morphine (IT+PCA) in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Methods: Sixty adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery for cancer were randomly allocated to receive preoperative IT (0.3 or 0.