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

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.