Description
Properly monitored, patients suffering acute postoperative pain can now deliver their own doses of analgesia as they need them. This ideally practical application of pain control is a relatively recent advance in analgesia, and one that can be supervised by all staff on the surgical ward, both doctors and nurses. This work discusses: how teams work; the question of safety; drugs used and their regimens; problems of presenting and storing drugs; rates of administration; respiratory depression; psychological aspects; clinical problems; organizing a patient controlled analgesia; service; and obtaining funding.
