Evaluation of demand analgesia in a community hospital.

Since more than 60% of patients with cancer at some time will experience pain that requires medical or surgical intervention, pain control is an important priority for these patients. Demand analgesia literally places pain control in the hands of the patient. Based on their experience with patients who have used this system of pain treatment, the authors discuss the therapeutic advantages, economic considerations, and guidelines for use of patient-controlled analgesia.