Pain Management in the Elderly.
Med Clin North Am. 2015 Mar;99(2):337-350
Authors: Malec M, Shega JW
Abstract
Persistent pain in older adults is common, and associated with substantial morbidity. Optimal management starts with assessment, including pain presence, intensity, characteristics, and interference; painful conditions; pain behaviors; pain-related morbidity; pain treatments; and coping style. Treatment incorporates analgesics demonstrated to decrease pain and improve a patient's sense of well-being. The World Health Organization's 3-step pain ladder is widely accepted and adopted for selecting analgesics among patients with non-cancer pain. Shared decision making is essential to balance the benefits and burdens of analgesics. This article reviews pain assessment/management for older adults, focusing on commonly used analgesics.
PMID: 25700587 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]