A comparison of patient-controlled analgesia versus traditional intramuscular analgesia in postoperative pain management.

A retrospective chart review of the 198 postoperative subjects (patient-controlled analgesia [PCA] group = 100 and non-PCA group = 98) comparing analgesic usage and other variables was conducted. The PCA group used significantly more medication during the first 24 hours postoperatively and patients required more analgesic when a greater number of secondary diagnoses existed. No significant differences were found in length of stay or documentation.