Alaris® System with GuardrailsŪ Suite MX Training
Alaris® PCA module Glossary

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Acute Pain: Pain with a well-defined onset and predictable end with control or healing process1

Adjuvant Analgesic: A drug that has a primary indication other than pain, e.g. antidepressant or anticonvulsant, but is also analgesic for some painful conditions1

Analgesia: Absence of pain or noxious stimulation without loss of consciousness4

Analgesic: An agent that alleviates pain without causing loss of consciousness5

Analgesic Ceiling: A dose beyond which additional pain relief is not obtained4

Anesthetic: Non-opioid drug used to relieve pain during surgical procedures; local anesthetics are used to abolish pain sensation in a particular part of the body3

Anti-Siphon Valve: A control device within the administration set that prevents the occurrence of free-flow when syringe integrity is compromised

Basal Rate: (term unique to PCA therapy) Same as continuous infusion rate2

Breakthrough Pain: Pain that exceeds the ongoing pain2

Chronic Pain: Pain that persists beyond healing with no predictable end (may last a lifetime)1

Clinician-Administered Bolus: Subsequent dose administered by a clinician usually after PCA and / or continuous infusion has started; on some devices, the bolus dose functions as both the loading dose and subsequent bolus dose2

Loading Dose: Clinician administered dose at the start of therapy to establish an acceptable level of comfort2

Lockout (or Delay) Interval: Parameter that allows the clinician to program a pre-determined interval of time that must elapse between delivery of PCA doses2

LOS: Level of sedation1

Maximum Limit (sometimes referred to as 1-Hour or 4-Hour limit): Total amount of analgesic the patient can receive within one or four hours by PCA bolus dose and continuous (or basal) rate2

NSAID: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (e.g. ibuprofren, naproxen, COX-2 inhibitors)2

Opioid Analgesic: Natural, semisynthetic and synthetic drugs that relieve pain by binding to multiple types of opioid receptors in the nervous system4

Opioid-Naïve: Term used to describe individuals who have NOT taken opioids regularly and have NOT developed tolerance to opioid side effects1

Opioid-Tolerant: Term used to describe individuals who have taken opioids regularly and usually have developed tolerance to most of the opioid side effects1

Parenteral Routes: Intramuscular, subcutaneous and IV routes of administration2

PCA: Patient-controlled analgesia. An interactive method of pain management that permits patients to treat their pain by self-administering doses of analgesics2

PCA Demands (or Attempts): Number of times patient presses the PCA button2

PCA Dose (or PCA Bolus): Amount of analgesic patient will receive each time a bolus is self-administered2

PCA Injections: Number of times patient successfully self-administers a PCA bolus dose2

PCA Pause Protocol: An optional and hospital configurable feature that is intended to align with the healthcare facility's current protocol for patient monitoring during PCA therapy. The PCA infusion will pause and alarm when defined monitoring values for the Alaris® SpO2 module and/or Alaris® EtCO2 module are exceeded.

References

  1. Pasero, C. (1999). Epidural Analgesia for Acute Pain Management, Self-Directed Learning Program. Published by American Society of Pain Management Nurses.
  2. Pasero, C. (1998). Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia for Acute Pain Management, Self-Directed Learning module. Published by American Society of Pain Management Nurses.
  3. The U.S. Market for Pain Management Drugs and Devices (2003). Published by Kalorama Information, A Division of Market Research.com. New York, NY.
  4. McCaffery, M., & Pasero, C. (1999). Pain: Clinical manual (2nd ed.), pp. 17. St. Louis: Mosby.
  5. Medical Dictionary of Medical Related Terminology. Accessed 2003, available online at: http://www.medical-dictionary.com.