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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GERIATRIC PAIN CLINIC — A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE FIRST 100 PATIENTS.
Author(s) -
Helme R.D.,
Katz B.,
Neufeld M.,
Lachal S.,
Herbert J.,
Corran T.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 0726-4240
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.1989.tb00745.x
Subject(s) - medicine , multidisciplinary approach , attendance , pathological , physical therapy , disease , population , pain syndrome , social science , environmental health , sociology , economics , economic growth
A multidisciplinary pain management clinic specifically catering for the geriatric population, has been established in Melbourne and an analysis of the first 100 patients is presented. The major pathological problems referred to the clinic have been musculoskeletal disease (45) and post‐herpetic neuralgia (18). A third major category of patients had no identifiable pathological process to account for their pain. Using a variety of measurement scales at least 50% of patients were considered to benefit from attendance at the clinic. It is considered that a pain clinic for the elderly is of value for a patient group often considered difficult to manage; it combines expertise in treatment of age specific pain syndromes with the holistic approach to the care of the elderly.