A panel, including the American Pain Society and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, recommends multimodal analgesia, which they define as a combination of pharmacological agents and non-pharmacological techniques to treat postoperative pain. A significant benefit of this technique is that non-opioid analgesics used in combination with opioids can decrease the amount of opioids required and reduce the risk of opioid-related side effects. Medications can be delivered as needed or around-the-clock depending on the patient's needs. For children, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) can be used when parenteral administration is preferred. IV-PCA allows for consistent opioid levels, which can be a better alternative to scheduled intramuscular injections. In addition, studies have shown that children as young as 6 years old can use the IV-PCA correctly.
