Buprenorphine versus morphine for patient-controlled analgesia after cholecystectomy.

Buprenorphine is an opioid agonist-antagonist that has emerged as an option for postoperative analgesia. We compared the postoperative hospital course of patients undergoing open cholecystectomy who received buprenorphine hydrochloride with those who received morphine sulfate. Patients in both groups administered the analgesic using a patient-controlled analgesia infusion device.

A prospective study of patient-controlled analgesia. Impact on overall hospital course.

Previous studies have shown that patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) provides effective pain control in the postoperative patient. To determine the impact of PCA technology on the overall hospital course, we designed a randomized controlled study comparing patients receiving analgesia using PCA infusion (Abbott Lifecare, Abbott Laboratories; Chicago, IL) with patients receiving analgesia by traditional intramuscular or intravenous methods. All patients had undergone elective cholecystectomy.