• Ula Hwang, Laura K Belland, Daniel A Handel, Kabir Yadav, Kennon Heard, Laura Rivera-Reyes, Amanda Eisenberg, Matthew J Noble, Sudha Mekala, Morgan Valley, Gary Winkel, Knox H Todd, and Sean R Morrison.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, James J. Peters VAMC, Bronx, NY, USA Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, SC, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
• Pain. 2014 Dec 1; 155 (12): 2568-2574.

AbstractPain is highly prevalent in health care settings; however, disparities continue to exist in pain care treatment. Few studies have investigated if differences exist based on patient-related characteristics associated with aging. The objective of this study was to determine if there are differences in acute pain care for older vs younger patients. This was a multicenter, retrospective, cross-sectional observation study of 5 emergency departments across the United States evaluating the 2 most commonly presenting pain conditions for older adults, abdominal and fracture pain. Multivariable adjusted hierarchical modeling was completed. A total of 6,948 visits were reviewed. Older (⩾ 65 years) and oldest (⩾ 85 years) were less likely to receive analgesics compared to younger patients (<65 years), yet older patients had greater reductions in final pain scores. When evaluating pain treatment and final pain scores, differences appeared to be based on type of pain. Older patients with abdominal pain were less likely to receive pain medications, while older patients with fracture were more likely to receive analgesics and opioids compared to younger patients. Differences in pain care for older patients appear to be driven by the type of presenting pain.Published by Elsevier B.V.

23 keywords...

hide…