Raim Iliaz
Istanbul Medical Faculty 34093, Fatih- Istanbul
Turkey
Review Article
Approach to Pain in the Elderly
Author(s): Raim Iliaz, Gulistan Bahat Ozturk, Timur Selcuk Akpinar, Asli Tufan, Irem Sarihan, Nilgun Erten and Mehmet Akif Karan
Raim Iliaz, Gulistan Bahat Ozturk, Timur Selcuk Akpinar, Asli Tufan, Irem Sarihan, Nilgun Erten and Mehmet Akif Karan
Pain is the most common complained symptom in the elderly. Acute pain prevalence does not change with aging. However, chronic pain is much more prevalent in the elderly compared to young individuals. Despite these facts, pain in the elderly is commonly assessed and treated inadequately. The treatment goal of pain in the elderly is not always complete eradication of pain but decrease in pain allowing the improvement in activities of daily living and quality of life. Nonpharmacological-pharmacological approaches and anesthetic/invasive interventions can be used for pain treatment. During pharmacological treatment, the changes related to aging should be considered enabling increased side effects and drug-drug interactions. Generally, the stepwise guideline suggested by World Health Organisation for cancer pain is valid also for the treatment of chronic pain. Acetaminophen is the safest a.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2167-7182.1000125