Patient controlled analgesia for pediatric patients

Abstract

A method of providing a patient controlled analgesia to a pediatric patient including connecting a patient controlled analgesia system, such as an infusion pump and hand control, to an intravenous line of the pediatric patient and securing the hand control in a patient interface object, such as a stuffed toy having an internal void for receiving the hand control and an actuator affixed within the void. The patient is informed that pressing the area of the stuffed toy proximate to the actuator results in relieving pain experienced by the patient. Furthermore, an Internet address that is specific to the pediatric patient is provided to the patient for instructions on use of the combined patient controlled analgesia system and the patient interface object.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This Divisional patent application claims the benefit of co-pending United States Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13 / 418,859, filed on Mar. 13, 2012, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present disclosure generally relates to analgesic delivery devices, and more particularly to a patient-controlled analgesic delivery device for pediatric patients.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Various drugs have been developed over the years to aid an individual to recover from various illnesses and medical conditions. These medications are either administered by health care professionals or are self-administered by the patient according to the directions of a health care professional. Probably the most common medicinal drugs are those used to aid in pain management and take the form of individual tablets of mild analgesics such as ‘low dose aspirin’ to opioids administered by infusion pumps. The major...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a patient controlled analgesia system for pediatric patients that includes a hand control and an infusion pump. The system uses a patient interface object with a stuffed toy that has a retainer for securely holding the hand control. The object also includes an actuator that can engage or disengage the hand control. The actuator is biased away from the retainer and can be selectively moved to engage or disengage the depressible trigger of the hand control. The system also includes an Internet address for the patient and a unique alpha-numeric identifier for the patient interface object. The invention provides a patient-controlled analgesia system that is easy for pediatric patients to use and can effectively relieve pain.

Problems solved by technology

However, such administration typically requires a medical professional to accomplish the administration of the analgesic.

The first commercially available infusion pump was developed in 1976, however, its use was limited to adults.

Advantages of the use of PCA include the lack of waiting time for patients requiring pain medication before a caregiver can increase the dosage of medication.

However, the primary contraindication for the use of PCA in the pediatric population is the inability of pediatric patients to understand the concept of PCA or how to activate the device.

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