[Assessment of pain in elderly hospitalised patients. A transversal descriptive survey].

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

The assessment and treatment of pain in elderly hospitalised patients are essential elements for the management of these patients. Within the context of a policy aimed at fighting against pain, a transversal survey was conducted at the university hospital centre in Bordeaux to enhance knowledge on pain, its impact and the difficulties in its assessment in these elderly patients.

OBJECTIVE:

Analyse the data of this survey concerning patients aged 65 and over, hospitalised in various departments of medicine and in the Geriatric centre.

METHODS:

In this "on a given day" transversal survey, 221 patients underwent self-assessment of their pain using a questionnaire and the numerical scale. 365 patients with cognitive or phasic disorders were assessed using a behavioural scale (Doloplus). The prevalence of pain was calculated in the various departments. The type of pain, its impact, its acknowledgment by the nurses and the physicians and the treatments were described.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of pain was of 47.5% in the patients who underwent self-assessment. In the patients who underwent a hetero-assessment, it was of 63.6% in Medicine and 20% in the Geriatric centre. Acute pain predominated in medicine (49%) and chronic pain in the Geriatric centre (52%). The impact of pain on morale was moderate or severe in 60% of patients, and on sleep in 51%. The simultaneous agreement of the nurses and physicians on the pain felt by the patients was of 32% in Medicine and 44.5% in the Geriatric centre.

CONCLUSION:

There is a problem in the acknowledgment of pain in elderly patients. This is related to the systematic non-use of assessment tools and the overlooking of rules for the use of analgesics, particularly in the treatment of chronic pain.

• Authors: Muriel Rainfray, Bruno Brochet, Anne-Marie de Sarasqueta, Philippe Michel, CLUD
• Journal: Presse medicale (Paris, France : 1983) (Presse Med) Vol. 32 Issue 20 Pg. 924-9 (Jun 07 2003) ISSN: 0755-4982 [Print] France
• Vernacular Title: Evaluation de la douleur des personnes âgées hospitalisées. Enquête descriptive transversale.
• PMID: 12876535 (Publication Type: English Abstract, Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged (physiology)
• Cognition Disorders (epidemiology)
• France
• Health Surveys
• Hospitals, University
• Humans
• Inpatients
• Pain (epidemiology)
• Pain Measurement
• Prevalence
• Surveys and Questionnaires