CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03697278Updated Apr 16, 2025

Monitoring Postoperative Patient-controlled Analgesia (PCA)

An interventional study of Smith medical CADDsolis in Postoperative Pain, Patient Controlled Analgesia and Surgery, sponsored by Pether Jildenstal. Completed at 2 sites in Sweden. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-16.

Sponsored by Pether Jildenstal · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Non-randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The introduction of Acute Pain Service (APS), 1985, specialized pain management could be offered to the inpatient care. An example of this is patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), which is a technique that is used mostly after surgery. A PCA pump is an electronic pump that is prepared with pain relief medicine, usually an opioid, which is administered either epidural or intravenously. PCA pumps are programmed with medical protocols. For prevent overdose, there are blocking times between possible bolus doses and a maximum dose per hour.

In a Cochrane review from 2015, PCA have shown to be more beneficial for the patient especially when it comes to patient satisfaction, compared to conventional pain relief where nurses administer pain relief on request. The authors could also demonstrate that patients experience less pain and were more satisfied with patient-controlled analgesia. However, studies have showing limitations in the ease of practice of the PCA pumps, which indicates need for further development.

Today the major part of the documentation in the Swedish healthcare is computerized. Using digital systems that communicate with each other should be seen as a matter of course. Instead, a human intermediator is commonly used where documentation is performed by pencil and paper. Due to the human factor that may affect the interpretation of the information the patient safety is placed at risk. The elimination of the human intermediator could lead to a safer transfer of information. There are already studies concerning computerized PCA pumps and wireless communication by medical devices, but only studies that are conducted outside of Europe and studies with the technical aspect in focus.

Studies have shown that wireless communication by medical devices in the nursing setting can provide support for prioritization and increase the patient safety. However, the field of research lacks of knowledge when it comes to the patients' and nurses' experience of using PCA pumps with wireless communication system. Due to today's research field, further studies will be needed to investigate how documentation can be safeguarded and how accessible information regarding patients' need for pain relief can be linked to prescribed treatment. This may also lead to the development of nurses' way of work with patient-controlled and epidural pain relief in the postoperative pain management.

Read the detailed description

Investigators will conduct a prospective intervention study including both nurses and patients in the study group. A web-based questionnaire will be used to collect the data from the participators.

Inclusion criteria for the study group consisting of nurses will be registered nurses working in one of the two surgical wards included in the study. The nurses shall also have education and experience of working with PCA pumps and accepted participation in the study. Exclusion criteria for the nurses' group are lack of education and experience in working with PCA pumps and lack of basic knowledge in English.

Inclusion criteria for patients are adult patients over 17 yrs., both men and women who has been prescribed a PCA pump for postoperative pain management and accepted participation in the study. Exclusion criteria for the patient group are patients under 18 yrs., old, inability to carry out the survey, neuropsychiatric or psychiatric disease, non-Swedish speaking and drug abuser.

Both of the wards included in the study uses PCA pump, , Smiths medical modell CADD Solis. Only one of the wards will use the wireless monitoring platform, , Smiths medical modell CADD Solis.

Intervention group; ward with PCA pumps using the wireless monitoring platform. Control group; ward using regularly PCA pumps. The patients' survey includes questions regarding satisfaction, participation and user-friendliness of the PCA pump. Patients will fill in the survey after completion of PCA treatment. Investigators intend to investigate if there is any difference in time of treatment between the intervention- and control group and if there is an ability to individualize patients' pain relief based on improved monitoring as well as the possibility of follow-up and quality work.

The nurses' survey includes questions regarding the experience of monitoring and documentation work regarding PCA treatment. Nurses will fill in a questionnaire consisting of 6 questions after each work shift where they have treated one or more patient(s) with a PCA pump. Data analysis will take place in a computer program for statistical analysis. All data collected during the course of the study will be unidentified and the result will be presented at group level without the risk of tracking data to one individual.

Statistics The study population size is based on a p-value 0.05 for statistical significance and 80 % power analysis, which generates need for at least 39 participants in each group. With an estimated 10 % non-response rate, investigators need 45 participants in each group consisting in a total of 90 patients. The estimated study time is 40 weeks depending on how many PCA pumps that will be prescribed throughout the study. The study estimates to start in November 2017.

Flowchart 1: Study group patient Question about study participation Carried out at the preoperative surgery department alternatively at postoperative ward

Elective surgery with prescripiton of PCA pumps postoperatively, exclusion criteria:

Patients younger than 18 years old, inability to carry out the survey, neuropsychiatric or psychiatric disease, non-swedish speaking, drug abuser

Written consent obtained either preoperatively or postoperatively

Group assignment depending on postoperative ward

Group 1 (Intervention group) Group 2 (Control group) PCA pump and wireless monitoring PCA pump according to current monitoring routine

PCA treatment startup in either the postoperative recovery room or at the ward

Approximately 2-3 days of PCA treatment

Patient survey is filled in when PCA treatment is completed

Flow chart 2: Study group nurses Question about study participation Meeting with information prior to study startup

Nurses at the postoperative recovery room and nurses at the two surgical wards assigned for group 1 and group 2, exclusion criteria:

No education/experience in working with PCA pumps, lack of basic knowledge in English

Written consent obtained before study start

Group allocation depending on work place/ward

Group 1 (Intervention group) Group 2 (Control group) PCA pump + wireless monitoring PCA pump according to current monitoring routine

Exposure time approximately 40 weeks

Nurses fill in the survey consisting of 6 questions after each work shift where they have treated one or more patient(s) with a PCA pump

02

Conditions studied

  • Postoperative Pain
  • Patient Controlled Analgesia
  • Surgery
  • Nurse-Patient Relations

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • pain
  • postoperative
03

In context

Pain, Postoperative

5,093 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,140 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 90 is above the median of 75 across 4,344 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.

Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →

Lead sponsor

Pether Jildenstal is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients are adult patients >17 yrs.,
  2. both men and women who has been prescribed a PCA pump for postoperative pain management and accepted participation in the study

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients \< 18 years old,
  2. inability to carry out the survey,
  3. neuropsychiatric or psychiatric disease,
  4. non-swedish speaking, drug abuser
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Investigator)
Enrollment
90 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Control group

    Using clinical routinely regime device to use and monitor postoperative controlled pain (PCA) after surgery.

  • Experimental
    Smith medical CADDsolis

    This study group use a new device to use and monitor postoperative controlled pain (PCA) after surgery.

    Device: Smith medical CADDsolis

Interventions

  • DeviceSmith medical CADDsolis

    This group will be monitoring from a network.

    Also known as: intervention group

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Patients perception of involvement in their own pain regim

    The patients will answer 24 Questions involving their perception of involvement in their own pain regim. Nominal scale, 0-10 worse= 0 best10. The scale will measure experience.

    Time frame: Up to 15 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Nurses perception of patient safety

    The nurses will answer 6 Questions involving how the PCA method influence their work regarding patient safety and their own working environment, the nominal scale will be used, 0-10 worse= 0 best10

    Time frame: Up to 15 months

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Sahlgrenska University hospital
    Gothenburg, 41310, Sweden
  • Sahlgrenska academy, University of Gothenburg
    Gothenburg, Box 457 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 16, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03697278
Lead sponsor
Pether Jildenstal
Collaborators
Göteborg University
Responsible party
Pether Jildenstal (Senior lecturer PhD, Göteborg University) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Oct 5, 2018
Start date
Sep 28, 2018
Primary completion
Oct 30, 2024
Completion
Dec 31, 2024
Last update
Apr 16, 2025

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion