Evaluation of Vaso-occlusive Crisis Management With Patient-Controlled Analgesia in Children With Sickle Cell Disease Requiring Hospitalization.

Objective: The aim of this study was to review the use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in sickle cell disease (SCD) for pediatric patients with vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in our institution and to compare the effect of early vs late PCA start on pain relief and LOS.

Methods: This retrospective study included all pediatric patients treated with PCA for a severe VOC from 2010 to 2016. "Early-PCA" was defined as start of PCA within 48 hours of arrival. Time to reach adequate analgesia was defined as the time to reach 2 consecutive pain scores less than 5/10 at 4-hour interval.

Results: During the study period, 46 patients presented 87 episodes of VOC treated with PCA. Sixty-three patients with VOC were treated with Early-PCA and 24 with Late-PCA. Both groups were comparable except for median pain score at admission; the Early-PCA group had higher scores: 9.0/10 vs 7.0/10. Time to reach adequate analgesia could be evaluated only in a subset of patients (n = 32) but was shorter in the Early-PCA group with a median difference of 41.0 hours (95% CI -82.0 to -6.0). Early-PCA was associated with a median reduction in LOS of 3.4 days (95% CI -4.9 to -1.9). There was no difference between the 2 groups in terms of side effects and occurrence of acute chest syndrome during hospitalization.

Conclusions: In this study, a reduced time to reach adequate analgesia and LOS was noted in the Early-PCA group for severe VOC. A prospective study is required to confirm these results.