title: Assessment and management of rib fracture pain in geriatric population: an ode to old age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pain management for traumatic rib fractures has been described in literature, but there is paucity of data when it comes to acute pain management in the elderly, let alone pain resulting from traumatic rib fractures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This article focuses on challenges of assessment of pain in elderly patients and the various options available for pain management including utilization of nerve blocks. Nerve blocks are instrumental in treating rib fracture pain along with utilization of opioids and nonopioids thus formulating a multimodal approach to pain management.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The goal is to devise a proper pain management regimen for geriatric patients with rib fractures to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with it. Developing institutional protocols is one step forward towards quality care for such patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Richa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wardhan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural; D006801:Humans; D009407:Nerve Block; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059408:Pain Management; D012253:Rib Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014797:Vital Capacity