Physical therapists' perceptions of ease of care in patients receiving 2 forms of analgesia after total hip arthroplasty

Abstract

Background. Pain management modalities that facilitate patient mobility may contribute to recovery after total hip replacement (THR) surgery. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of morphine intravenous (TV) patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and the fentanyl iontophoretic transdermal system (fentanyl ITS) on physical therapists' ability to complete care tasks for patients after THR. Design. The data were from an open-label, randomized, multicenter, active-control phase IHb clinical trial. Methods. The settings were 52 US-based teaching and community hospitals. The patients were ≥18 years of age (mean [SEM]: 62.8 [0.6] years in the fentanyl ITS group and 62.9 [0.6] years in the morphine IV PCA group); had an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I, II, or III; and were scheduled to undergo primary unilateral THR surgery. The patients were randomized to receive analgesia for up to 72 hours via the fentanyl ITS (40 μg of fentanyl over 10 minutes for up to 6 doses per hour for 24 hours or 80 doses per system, whichever occurred first) or morphine IV PCA (1-mg bolus doses [with a 5-minute lockout interval between doses] for up to 10 doses per hour for 24 hours). All patients received the usual treatment administered by physical therapists. After each therapy session, physical therapists completed a validated Physical Therapist Ease-of-Care Questionnaire, which included time efficiency and convenience subscales (lower scores indicated more positive responses) and a satisfaction subscale (a higher score indicated a more positive response). Therapists whose average scores were ≤2 on all items of the time efficiency and convenience subscales or ≥4 on both items of the satisfaction subscale were considered responders. Results. Higher percentages of physical therapists were responders for the fentanyl ITS than for morphine IV PCA on the subscales that assessed time efficiency (84.9% and 59.1%, respectively), convenience (86.6% and 71.2%, respectively), and satisfaction (54.3% and 30.5%, respectively). Higher percentages of physical therapists favored the fentanyl ITS than favored morphine IV PCA. Limitations. The trial was limited by its open-label design, and physical therapists were more familiar with IV PCA than with the fentanyl ITS. Conclusions. The findings demonstrate benefits to physical therapists of using the fentanyl ITS over morphine IV PCA in terms of time efficiency, convenience, and satisfaction. © 2010 American Physical Therapy Association.