Internal Med Medical News about Analgesics Frail Elderly

Become a Member Today!
Register

Most Viewed Abstracts

1. Report Shows Shift in Starting Salaries for Physicians

2. Recommendations on the use of 18F-FDG PET in oncology

3. Gene expression signatures, clinicopathological features, and individualized therapy in breast cancer

4. AHA Guidelines on Cardiac CT for Assessing Coronary Artery Disease

5. Rapid correction of low vitamin D status in nursing home residents

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

(Click the title below to leave the MDLinx Network and go to the Journal's Website)

Clinical pharmacology of analgesics in old age and frailty
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 11/10/09

Mitchell SJ et al. – There is a high prevalence of pain in older people. Optimal assessment and management of pain in this population is challenging. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of analgesic medications are affected by ageing and frailty, as well as by intercurrent medical conditions and their treatments. This review describes what is currently understood about the impacts of old age and frailty on the clinical pharmacology of commonly used analgesics, to provide a rational basis for the use of these medicines. In view of the wide age–related inter–individual variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of analgesic medications, monitoring of clinical response and adverse effects is essential to optimize pain control in older people.