title: Chronic pain. Clinical management of common causes of geriatric pain.
abstract: Effective management of chronic pain in older persons is attainable, although unnecessarily elusive. A host of factors can impede assessment and drug management, including impaired cognitive function, multiple potential causes of pain, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics unique to the geriatric population, and clinician anxiety regarding analgesic addiction. In the geriatric population, some of the most prevalent chronic pain management cases involve osteoarthritis, low back pain, and neuropathy. Effective pain management is achieved with analgesics (acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), opioids, non-opioid agents (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants) and invasive techniques (corticosteroid epidural injections/nerve blocks).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gordon M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Freedman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000700:Analgesics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007268:Injections, Epidural; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic