title: Acute pain management in older adults in the emergency department.
abstract: Effective treatment of acute pain in older patients is a common challenge faced by emergency providers. Because older adults are at increased risk for adverse events associated with systemic analgesics, pain treatment must proceed cautiously. Essential elements to quality acute pain care include an early initial assessment for the presence of pain, selection of an analgesic based on patient-specific risks and preferences, and frequent reassessments and retreatments as needed. This article describes current knowledge regarding the assessment and treatment of acute pain in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. ula.hwang@mountsinai.org
authors.forename: Ula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Timothy F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Platts-Mills
mesh_terms: D059787:Acute Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000700:Analgesics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics