Postoperative Analgesia in Geriatric Patients

Effective postoperative analgesia in geriatric patients is both challenging and rewarding. Inadequate pain control after surgery is associated with adverse outcomes in the older patient. This review will attempt to describe the difficulty with assessment of pain and variations in pain experience of elder-ly patients. Physiological changes related to aging need to be also carefully considered, because a-ging is individualized and progressive. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes in geriatric patients, the higher incidence of co-morbidities and concurrent use of other drugs, must be carefully adjusted to suit each geriatric patient, concerning postoperative pain management. Medication for postoperative pain will be discussed. Unfortunately, many medications have not been studied well in the older population.Non-pharmacological approaches to postoperative pain management will not be discussed, although this would be an interesting topic for further discussion.