The nurse is caring for a postoperative patient in the critical care unit. The physician has ordered patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for the patient. The nurse understands that the PCA: (Select all that apply.)
a. is a safe and effective method for administering analgesia.
b. has potentially fewer side effects than other routes of analgesic administration.
c. is an ideal method to provide critically ill patients some control over their treatment.
d. provides good quality analgesia.
A, B, D
PCA is safe and effective, provides good-quality analgesia, and has potentially fewer side effects than other routes. PCA management is rarely appropriate for critically ill patients because most patients are unable to depress the button, or they are too ill to manage their pain effectively.
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