Clinics in geriatric medicine
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Much is known about opioid metabolism, which is critical in administering these agents to the elderly. Fear of addiction and tolerance are the major barriers to their use among patients as well as health-care professionals. Addressing these issues early in the initiation opioid therapy will help to alleviate these concerns. ⋯ It is anticipated that a variety of newly formulated opioids will shortly be available for clinical use. Finally, as a better understanding of the neurophysiology of pain is gained, the clinician can anticipate having more analgesic opioids that target their receptors without agonist or antagonist effect on other opioid receptors. This will allow the clinician to better relieve pain with a minimum of unwanted side effects.
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Clin. Geriatr. Med. · Aug 1996
ReviewAnalgesic drugs for neuropathic and sympathetically maintained pain.
A variety of pharmacologic approaches to the management of pain due to nerve damage have been tried, with mixed results. Sympathetically maintained pain responds most commonly to sympathetic nerve blocks. Oral nifedipine may be a useful adjunct. ⋯ Careful attention to medical, pharmacologic, psychologic, and physical factors are the hallmarks of this type of treatment. The drugs now available provide marked relief to the majority of patients when therapy includes careful attention to the various dimensions of the pain syndrome. Although consistently effective drug therapy for all neuropathic and sympathetically maintained pain is not yet available, the probability of new NMDA antagonists being introduced in the next few years offers promise.
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1. Prevent predictable pain, such as occurs postoperatively. Anticipatory pain management is particularly important in the elderly, who frequently attempt to "tough it out" without much analgesia. 2. ⋯ Unless the patient has a contraindication or there is a strong concern about hemostasis or peptic ulceration, NSAIDs should generally be administered. The major concern in frail elders is acute renal failure; therefore, ensure good hydration and avoid use of NSAIDs if renal function is diminished. NSAIDs should be used on a scheduled (not prn) basis.
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Pain management is a common concern of elderly patients with chronic cancer pain as well as many nonmalignant chronic illnesses. Family caregivers are central to pain management efforts, particularly in the home-care environment. Pain management is cited as an aspect of caregiving with both physical and emotional demands. ⋯ Education is necessary to dispel common misconceptions regarding pain and use of analgesics, and also to address the emotional aspects of relieving pain. This family education must be preceded by the education of professionals in geriatric care and to the extension of recent advances in pain management into the geriatric population. These advances can provide comfort to elderly patients as well as to the family members who care for them.