Table 3.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Mean (SD; range) | Adjusted analysis* | Unadjusted analysis | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAU (n=97) | PCA (n=99) | Mean difference† (95% CI) | P value | Mean difference† (95% CI) | P value | |||
| Total morphine (mg)‡ | 23.6 (13.1; (3.0-60.0) | 36.1 (22.4; 8.0-106.3) | −12.3 (−17.4 to −7.2) | <0.001 | −12.6 (−17.8 to −7.4) | <0.001 | ||
| Total morphine during 12 hour study period (mg) | 10.7 (9.6; (0-40.0) | 23.6 (20.3; 0 to 96.3) | −12.8 (−17.2 to −8.3) | <0.001 | −12.9 (−17.4 to −8.4) | <0.001 | ||
| Percentage of study period with pain VAS >4.4 cm | 46.9 (30.5; 0-100) | 32.6 (32.5; 0-100) | 14.5 (5.6 to 23.5) | 0.002 | 14.3 (5.4 to 23.1) | 0.002 | ||
| Percentage of study period asleep | 18.6 (19.2; 0-84.6) | 19.7 (18.7; 0-76.9) | −1.5 (−6.6 to 3.5) | 0.550 | −1.1 (−6.4 to 4.3) | 0.693 | ||
| Length of hospital stay (days)§ | 3.6 (3.0; 0.2-13.5) | 3.3 (3.0; 0.1-13.0) | 0.2 (−0.6 to 1.1) | 0.572 | 0.2 (−0.6 to 1.1) | 0.589 | ||
PCA=patient controlled analgesia; TAU=treatment as usual; VAS=visual analogue scale.
*Adjusted for stratification variables (time of first pain score and recruitment centre).
†TAU minus PCA.
‡Sum of pre-admission morphine, morphine from time of admission to time of recruitment, and morphine delivered during 12 hour study period.
§One outlier excluded from TAU group (length of hospital stay of 88 days).