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Pharmacological Management of Pain in Older People
Author(s) -
Katz Benny
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/j.2055-2335.2007.tb00663.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pain management , pain control , cognitive impairment , intensive care medicine , cognition , physical therapy , psychiatry , surgery
The prevalence of pain increases with advancing age. Pain is often undiagnosed or under‐treated in older patients, particularly those with cognitive impairment, communication problems or residents of aged‐care facilities. The most definitive approach to the management of pain is to treat the underlying cause. As this is often not feasible in the elderly, the emphasis then shifts to symptom control. Pharmacological approaches form the mainstay of therapy. They are convenient and often cost‐effective, and may be used alone, or in combination with physical and psychological therapies.