Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul;22(4):302-306.
doi: 10.7861/clinmed.22.4.ac-p.

Acute pain management for older adults

Faroakh Hosseini  1 , Sophie Mullins  1 , William Gibson  2 , Miriam Thake  3
Affiliations

Acute pain management for older adults

Faroakh Hosseini et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Older adults may experience a number of physiological changes that influence how acute pain is perceived, diagnosed and managed by healthcare professionals. Understanding these differences enables the identification, assessment and treatment of acute pain in older adults. Combining careful selection of pain medications with appropriate titration and monitoring allows the analgesic needs of this group to be met.

Keywords: Abbey Pain Score; acute pain; analgesia in older patients; pain assessment scales; polypharmacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
The Abbey Pain Scale. Designed to assess pain for patients who cannot verbalise their pain. Reproduced with permission from Abbey J, De Bellis A, Piller N et al. Abbey Pain Scale. Funded by the JH & JD Gunn Medical Research Foundation 1998–2002.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
The World Health Organization pain ladder. Adapted with permission from World Health Organization. Cancer pain relief. WHO, 1986:19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schofield P. The assessment of pain in older people: UK national guidelines. Age Ageing 2018;47:i1–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Behrends M, Rajan J. Acute pain in older adults. recommendations for assessment and treatment. Anesthesiology Clin 2019;37:507–20. - PubMed
    1. Lin RJ, Siegler EL. Acute pain management in older adults. In: Cordts GA, Christo PJ. (eds). Effective treatments for pain in the older patient. Springer, 2019:35–52.
    1. Baluch A, Kaye AD, Scott JT. Pain management in the elderly population: A review. Ochsner J 2010;10:179–87. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patel KV, Guralnik JM, Dansie EJ, Turk DC. Prevalence and impact of pain among older adults in the united states: findings from the 2011 national health and aging trends study. Pain 2013;154:10.1016/j.pain.2013.07.029. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources