Handbook of Pain Relief in Older Adults / Aging Medicine (PDF)

Twenty-five to fifty percent of older adults suffer from pain that interferes with daily activities, yet too few practitioners are using the available tools appropriately to bring pain under control. In the Handbook of Pain Relief in Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Approach, recognized authorities with varied backgrounds in clinical practice and research share their insights and methods in dealing with unnecessary pain in the elderly. Topics range from the crucial importance of properly assessing individual pain to practical guidance in the choice of medication and techniques. The authors detail pharmacotherapy (nonopioids, opioids, and adjuvants), interventional strategies, the role of rehabilitation in managing pain in seniors, and the problems of pain management in long-term care. Additional chapters explore spirituality as an adjunct to pain management, the importance of political involvement to free clinicians impeded by laws and regulations, and the use of the internet and electronic medical records to foster improved pain-care. Supplementary features include continuing medical education (CME) questions and the opportunity to acquire 6.5 AMA/PRA category 1 CME credits from Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education, and an appendix of analgesics that details starting oral doses, maximum daily oral doses, and special considerations for the elderly.

Comprehensive and practical, the Handbook of Pain Relief in Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Approach offers physicians, health care workers, and interested patients and caregivers a magisterial survey of the problem of pain in the elderly, covering not only the standard clinical issues in pain management, but also the psychological, cultural, and legal aspects that are critical to relieving pain in older adults.