Chang Gung medical journal
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Efficacy and adverse effects of patient-controlled epidural or intravenous analgesia after major surgery.
The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine whether epidural fentanyl-bupivacaine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) was more efficacious and had fewer adverse effects than epidural or intravenous morphine PCA. ⋯ Patients receiving epidural fentanyl-bupivacaine PCA experienced better overall pain relief, while morphine PCA, either epidurally or intravenously, caused more side effects. It is considered safe to use continuous epidural PCA with fentanyl-bupivacaine in patients receiving major elective surgery.