International journal of clinical practice
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Sep 2010
An audit on assessment and management of pain at the time of acute hospital admission in older people.
Pain management is fundamental to good clinical care. All patients who are admitted into hospital with any acute condition should be assessed about the presence or absence of pain and managed appropriately at the time of admission. As the prevalence of pain is high in older people, we examined how well it is assessed and managed in the older people in a typical medical emergency setting in the UK. ⋯ Our findings suggest that pain management may be sub-optimal in older people in the acute medical settings. Regular monitoring and education may have potential to improve assessment and management of pain in these vulnerable older adults.