A comparison of patient-controlled analgesia and bolus PRN intravenous morphine in the intensive care environment.

We compared the use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine and p.r.n. intravenous morphine in an intensive care unit setting. Thirty-eight patients scheduled for admission to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) were prospectively randomized to either a PCA group or a p.r.n. intravenous morphine group. Assessments included pain and sedation scores, respiratory rates, pulse oximetry, and morphine utilization. PCA was found to be comparable in safety and efficacy to nurse-administered morphine in the intensive care environment. An unexpected finding was the higher initial morphine utilization seen in the patients utilizing PCA.