Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2022 , Vol 25, Issue 1
CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS: ANALYSIS OF AN ALGOLOGY CLINIC'S DATA
Damla YÜRÜK1, Gevher Rabia GENÇ PERDECİOĞLU1
1Health Sciences University Diskapi Yıldırım Beyazıt Research&Training Hospital , Algology Clinic, Ankara, Turkey DOI : 10.31086/tjgeri.2022.267 Introduction: The aim of this study is to examine whether the number of admissions to an algology outpatient clinic , the cause of pain and application of interventional procedures of pain change with advanced age.

Materials and Method: Data of patients who admitted to Algology Outpatient Clinic between 1 January and 31 December 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into two groups: patients being <65-year-old (Group I) and ≥65-year-old (Group II). The comparative statistical analyses were performed between the groups.

Results: 5559(60.4%) patients were <65 years old (group I) and 3635(39.5%) patients were ≥65 years old (group II). The rate of myofascial pain (p<0.001), spinal pain (p= 0.020), headache (p<0.001), dorsal/chest pain (p= 0.042) and, pelvic pain (p<0.001) were considerably higher in group I. The rate of joint pain (p<0.001) was higher in group II. The rate of combined drug therapy and intervention among group II (58.8%) was higher than group I (51.7%) (p<0.001). Trigger point injection was the most common interventional procedure in both groups.

Conclusion: Fewer elderly patients than younger adult patients are applying to the Algology Outpatient Clinic. In the elderly, joint-related pain in particular is much more common than in young adults. In the treatment of chronic pain, interventional methods added to pharmacological treatment are more common in elderly patients than young adults. Keywords : Pain; Aged; Diagnosis