What is a PCA (Patient-Controlled Analgesia) pump?
PCAs are computerized pumps that can be set to deliver a specific amount of medication when a button is pushed by a patient. Children as young as 4 years old have used PCAs effectively, although generally we only offer it to children over the age of 7. Safety settings include limits on how often the pump will deliver the medication, how much is given at a time, and how much can be given over a four-hour period. Several medications can be used this way. Only the patient is allowed to press the button, so that if they become too sleepy, they fall asleep and do not press the button. Pressing the button while a patient is asleep is a dangerous thing to do (no matter how old the patient is) and we prohibit that, a policy we strictly enforce. In specific cases, we may allow a parent or nurse to use the button on behalf of the child. Because this carries extra risk, we reserve the right to limit who receives this treatment. We will discuss the options with you, and decide if your child is a c
