A randomized controlled trial of patient-controlled analgesia compared with boluses of analgesia for the control of acute traumatic pain in the emergency department.

Background: The use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been reported to provide effective pain relief, often resulting in less opioid consumption, and is associated with greater patient satisfaction when it is compared to other techniques of analgesia delivery.

Objectives: This study was done to compare the effectiveness of pain relief and patient satisfaction between PCA and the conventional method of administering boluses of analgesia for acute pain of traumatic origin in the Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: Study patients were randomized into two groups after being given a bolus of morphine.

The effectiveness of patient control analgesia in the treatment of acute traumatic pain in the emergency department: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Pain seems to be one of the most frequent complaints in the emergency department, however pain control is often suboptimal as seen by many audits. We conducted a study to find out whether the use of patient control analgesia (PCA) is effective in controlling acute pain in the emergency department

Methodology: This was a randomized controlled trial conducted in the emergency departments of two tertiary centres over a period of 1 year. Patients were randomized into two groups.