Intraoperative patient-controlled analgesia: an alternative to physician administration during outpatient monitored anesthesia care

Abstract

Outpatients undergoing minor diagnostic and therapeutic procedures associated with intermittent discomfort are frequently given bolus injections of intravenous opioid analgesics. In a group of 80 healthy women undergoing vaginal ovum pickup procedures, we evaluated patient-controlled administration of alfentanil using a patient-controlled analgesia device (with a lockout interval of 3 min) as an alternative to conventional physician-controlled administration. The two alfentanil administration techniques were equally effective in providing intraoperative analgesia. The average alfentanil dosage requirements were 1.49 +/- 0.50 and 1.46 +/- 0.55 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 (mean +/- SD) in the physician- and patient-controlled groups, respectively. The incidence of postoperative nausea was the same in both treatment groups (8%). Even with the mandatory lockout interval, intraoperative patient-controlled administration of alfentanil was comparable to physician-controlled administration with respect to patient comfort and satisfaction during vaginal ovum pickup procedures.