Patient-Controlled Analgesia: A Method for the Controlled Self-administration

fie pulposes of this article are to introduce the reader to patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and to summarize its use in several selected pain-related con-ditions. Patient-controlled analgesia is a relatively new technique for managing pain in which patients are able to self-administer small doses of opioid analge-The use of biological and chemical substances for medicinal and religious purposes was common in antiquity. Oral ingestion, inhalation, or the topi-cal application of some of these sub-stances could evoke powerful physio-logical or psychological responses. Some of these effects were pleasant or beneficial, whereas others were poten-tially h a m h l or of little value. The reduction or elimination of pain and the production of sleep were two effects that were considered worth