News

A recent article published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management described a research intervention that evaluated the symptom experiences of older adults with cancer. The authors employed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale to evaluate the occurrence, severity, frequency, and distress of 32 symptoms commonly reported among a cohort of 330 older adult (age 60 and older) cancer patients. The authors found that pain was one of the most common symptoms reported among study participants, and that “additional research is warranted to examine how age differences in symptom experience are influenced by treatment differences.” Full Story

A recent study published in Consultant Pharmacist described “a performance improvement initiative conducted in accordance with the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) guideline regarding pharmacological management of persistent pain in older adults.” The authors assessed the following outcome measures: “appropriate use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), utilization of proper pain assessment tools, types of opioids used, and associated adverse effects.” The authors noted “a trend toward improvement in the use of NSAIDs, but did not [observe a change] in practice regarding the frequency of opioid use” among older adults. Full Story

A recent study published in BMC Palliative Care examined pain management methods for treating musculoskeletal pain and improving quality of life among terminally ill older adults. The authors performed a systematic review of literature that addressed musculoskeletal pain at the end of life by searching Internurse, Medline, Psych Info, Web of Knowledge and Cochrane and other research databases up to September 2012.  The authors found that “priorities for future research include high quality epidemiological studies to establish the prevalence, and intervention research that provides an evidence base for treatment.” Full Story

A recent study published in the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy evaluated a cognitive-behavioral pain self-management program developed for older adults in the home care setting.  The authors recruited and observed “two groups of home care physical therapists who were trained in the community-based program and completed surveys and participated in discussions during the training workshops to gather input on the program components perceived to be most helpful for their patients with pain.” Full Story

A recent article published in Current Medical Research and Opinion featured a study that “sought to establish a simple and inexpensive measure of functional change for a chronic pain population.” The authors employed physical therapy, conducted multiple functional tests, and implemented a 6-minute walk test to assess the physical capabilities of older adults with chronic pain. The authors found that participants who received standard physical therapy in conjunction with daily walking activities reported improved pain scores. Full Story

A recent study published in International Psychogeriatrics described covariates and patterns of late-life analgesic use in a population of rural based older adults.  The study consisted of 1,109 older adults who completed 6 biannual surveys that assessed their use of analgesics over a span of 13 years. The authors found that “chronic use of opioid analgesics was reported by 7.2%, while non-opioid use was reported by 46.1%.” Full Story

A recent study published in The Nurse Practitioner featured methods for managing herpes zoster (or Shingles) among older adults. The authors identified a higher incidence of shingles outbreaks among women over the age of 60. The study results indicate that “the treatment of herpes zoster has three goals: to prevent spread of the virus, to treat pain, and to prevent complications.” Full Story

A recent article published in Nursing Times featured new guidelines on the management of pain in older adults that were developed by the British Pain Society and the British Geriatric Society. The authors employed a systematic review in which the authors search PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for relevant publications between 1997 and 2010.  The authors “identified only a small number of studies on the management of pain in older people,” and conclude that, “the guideline has exposed this lack of evidence for many types of treatment in an ever-increasing ageing population.” Full Story

A recent study published in Pain Medicine examined “the demographic, physical, and mental health characteristics; current drug use patterns; motivations for use; and diversion sources among elderly prescription opioid misusers.” The study consisted of eighty-eight older adults (age 60 and older) who reported prescription medication misuse over the past 90 days. The authors found that “this group of elderly participants often misuse their own prescriptions for pain management.” Full Story

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society sought to determine “types of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and actually inappropriate medications (AIMs), which PIMs are most likely to be considered AIMs, and risk factors for PIMs and AIMs at hospital discharge in elderly intensive care unit (ICU) survivors.” The authors found that “certain types of PIMs, which are commonly initiated in the ICU, are more frequently considered inappropriate upon clinical review,” and “efforts to reduce AIMs in elderly ICU survivors should target these specific classes of medications.” Full Story