PCA
Ambiguous: patient-controlled analgesia OR procainamide
What PCA stands for
PCA is a medical abbreviation for ambiguous: patient-controlled analgesia or procainamide - written out in full as “Patient-controlled analgesia or procainamide”. TermDecode files it under medication abbreviations.
Risk
ISMP lists PCA as error-prone when intended as procainamide: it may be mistaken as patient-controlled analgesia.
Safer Alternative
Write "procainamide" or "patient-controlled analgesia" in full
Seen in context
Morphine PCA
Sources
The risk description and safer alternative above are reproduced from these published lists.
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