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Chronic Post-Surgical Pain in the Frail Older Adult

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Abstract

Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the population and surgical procedures in this group increase each year. Chronic post-surgical pain is an important consideration in the older adult as it affects recovery, physical functioning, and overall quality of life. It is increasingly recognized as a public health issue but there is a need to improve our understanding of the disease process as well as the appropriate treatment and prevention. Frailty, delirium, and cognition influence post-operative outcomes in older adults and have been implicated in the development of chronic post-surgical pain. Further research must be conducted to fully understand the role they play in the occurrence of chronic post-surgical pain in the older adult. Additionally, careful attention must be given to the physiologic, cognitive, and comorbidity differences between the older adult and the general population. This is critical for elucidating the proper chronic post-surgical pain treatment and prevention strategies to ensure that the older adult undergoing surgical intervention will have an appropriate and desirable post-operative outcome.

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  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L Levy Place, Box 1010, New York, NY, USA

    Gary Esses, Stacie Deiner & Yury Khelemsky

  2. Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Fred Ko

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  1. Gary Esses
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Correspondence to Gary Esses.

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Gary Esses, Stacie Deiner, Fred Ko, and Yury Khelemsky have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

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Fred Ko receives funding support from NIA K08 AG050808. Stacie Deiner receives funding support from NIA Beeson K23 and the American Federation of Aging Beeson Program.

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Esses, G., Deiner, S., Ko, F. et al. Chronic Post-Surgical Pain in the Frail Older Adult. Drugs Aging 37, 321–329 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-020-00761-2

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