The knowledge and attitudes of general practitioners to the assessment and management of pain in people with dementia

Registered nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices of pain management for aged care residents with dementia: an integrative review

AIM

To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Registered Nurses working in residential aged care facilities pertaining to pain management for residents living with dementia.

BACKGROUND

Sub-optimal pain management continues for people living with dementia in residential aged care. Registered Nurses are the pivotal staff responsible for complex assessment and management of people residing in residential aged care facilities.

DESIGN AND METHODS

:This integrative literature review was informed by Whittemore (2005). Searching and screening followed the PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

Thirteen papers were identified, the major themes identified were gaps in knowledge and skills, uncertainty of assessment, and delays in treatment.

CONCLUSION

Registered Nurses require education on pain management for people living with dementia in residential aged care. Broader issues in residential aged care contribute to the problem and require examination. Research pertaining to Registered Nurses' roles pain management for residents living with dementia is required.

Analgesic stewardship in Australian residential aged care facilities: Retrospective audit of a collaborative approach to optimising opioid use

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate retrospectively an analgesic stewardship role of a non-dispensing pharmacist as part of a general practice team providing primary care services to residential aged care facilities (RACF).

METHODS

Our general practice implemented an analgesic stewardship program to optimise and monitor opioid usage for our patients located across 12 RACF in Canberra from March 2019 to September 2020. The primary objective was the development of a multidisciplinary chronic pain care plan to document treatment and monitoring strategies for optimising pain control. The pharmacist reviewed and documented existing pain management strategies in a care plan for each patient and discussed recommendations for optimisation with the general practitioner. The general practitioner implemented accepted recommendations and distributed finalised care plans to the RACF. A retrospective audit of care plans was undertaken to assess the outcomes: mean daily oral morphine equivalence to monitor opioid usage, and pain scores to monitor for any potential harm associated with analgesic stewardship.

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty-seven residents received an initial care plan. Residents were scheduled for a follow-up care plan after 6 months, which was achieved for 100 residents (60%). Scope for optimising opioid therapy was identified for 47 residents (28%) at baseline and 23 residents (23%) at follow-up. Mean opioid usage and pain scores were reduced at follow-up; 19.4 mg (SD 40.8) versus 13.4 mg (SD 22.8), and 4.2 (SD 2.3) versus 3.9 (SD 2.0), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A systematic, multidisciplinary analgesic stewardship approach may optimise pain management plans and reduce opioid usage in RACF residents.

Implementing PainChek and PARO to Support Pain Assessment and Management in Residents with Dementia: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Pain is a common problem but often undiagnosed and untreated in people with dementia.

AIMS

This study explored the experiences of residents with dementia, family, andformal carers with (1) pain assessment and management for residents with dementia; (2) the use of the PainChek app for pain assessment, and (3) the use of a social robot PARO for pain management in residents with dementia.

DESIGN

A qualitative study.

SETTINGS/PARTICIPANTS

Interviews were conducted with 13 residents withdementia, three family members, and 18 formal carers from a residential aged carefacility.

METHOD

Residents with dementia interacted with PARO for 15 mins, five days perweek for three weeks. The PainChek app assessed pain levels before and after eachsession. After three-week intervention, individual interviews were conducted withresidents, family, and formal carers who experienced or observed the use of PainChekapp and PARO for residents. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, andanalyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four themes were identified regarding pain in residents with dementia: (1) the impact, challenges and strategies of pain assessment and management; (2) benefits and barriers of using PainChek app to assess pain; (3) benefits of interacting with PARO to manage pain and behavioral symptoms; and (4) implementing PainChek app and PARO to support pain assessment and management in dementia care.

CONCLUSIONS

Technology, such as PainChek and PARO, is promising to improve painassessment and reduce pain for people with dementia. Barriers to using technologyinclude limited staff training and the implementation of person-centered care.

Non-clinical uses of antipsychotics in resource-constrained long-term care facilities: ethically justifiable as lesser of two evils?

Residents with dementia in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) often receive antipsychotic (AP) medications without clear clinical indications. One non-clinical factor influencing the use of APs in LTCFs is low staff levels. Often, using APs is viewed and rationalised by healthcare professionals in LTCFs as a lesser evil option to manage low staff levels. This paper investigates the ethical plausibility of using APs as a lesser of two evils in resource-constrained LTCFs. I examine the practice vis-à-vis the three frequently invoked conditions of lesser evil justifications as specified in the wider philosophical literature. These conditions include (1) the necessity condition, (2) the condition of sensitivity to both deontic (ie, constraint-based) and non-deontic (ie, outcome-based) considerations and (3) the commensurability condition. I argue that there are considerable difficulties in demonstrating that the practice in question satisfies the conditions of lesser evil justifications. In particular, there are major difficulties in satisfying the condition of sensitivity to deontic and outcome-based considerations, and the commensurability condition. I also argue that the current philosophical debate on lesser-evil justifications is not straightforwardly applicable to the practice of using APs for non-clinical purposes in LTCFs. I contend that caregivers are not so-called 'generic' agents, and the assumed rarity of lesser evil cases is questionable. I conclude that until further work is done to resolve these issues, the lesser evil reasoning cannot be, at least routinely, used to formulate robust moral justifications for the practice in question.

Cultural Influence on Nurses' Pain Observations Related to Dementia: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND

Nurses play a pivotal role in pain observation in people living with dementia. However, currently, there is little understanding of the influence culture may have on the way nurses observe pain experienced by people living with dementia.

AIM

This review explores the influence of culture on nurses... pain observations experienced by people living with dementia.

SETTINGS

Studies were included regardless of the setting (e.g., acute medical care, long-term care, community).

DESIGN

An integrative review.

PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS

PubMed, Medline, Psychological Information Database, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and ProQuest were included in the search.

METHODS

Electronic databases were searched using synonyms for "dementia," "nurse," "culture," and "pain observation." The review included ten primary research papers following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

RESULTS

Nurses reported that pain observation in people living with dementia is challenging. Four themes were identified by data synthesis: (1) using behaviors for pain observation; (2) information from carers for pain observation; (3) pain assessment tools for pain observation; and (4) role of knowledge, experience, and intuition in pain observation.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a limited understanding of the role of culture on nurses' pain observations. However, nurses take a multifaceted approach to observing pain using behaviors, information from carers, pain assessment tools, and their knowledge, experience, and intuition.

Pain management for people with dementia: a cross-setting systematic review and meta-ethnography

Background

Pain management for people with dementia is challenging. There is limited understanding on the experiences of pain management from people with dementia, but also from those who support them. This study synthesised the qualitative evidence to explore the perspectives of people with dementia, their family, friends, carers and healthcare professionals to pain management.

Methods

A systematic literature review was undertaken of published and unpublished literature databases (to 01 November 2021). All qualitative research studies reporting the perspectives of people with dementia, their family, friends, carers and healthcare professionals to managing pain were included. Eligible studies were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative appraisal tool. A meta-ethnography analysis approach was adopted, with findings assessed against the GRADE-CERQual framework.

Results

Of the 3994 citations screened, 33 studies were eligible. Seven themes were identified from the data. There was moderate evidence from six studies indicating inequity of pain management for people with dementia. There was moderate evidence from 22 studies regarding anxieties on cascading pain information. There was moderate evidence from nine studies that familiarisation of the person with pain, their preferences, routines and behaviours were key factors to better pain management. Consistently, carers and healthcare professionals had a low opinion of the management of pain for people with dementia, with tensions over the 'best' treatment options to offer. This was associated with poor training and understanding on how pain 'should' be managed.

Conclusion

The findings highlight the challenges faced by people with dementia and pain, and those who support them. Improvements in education for people who support these individuals would be valuable across health and social care pathways. Supporting family members and relatives on pain experiences and treatment options could improve awareness to improve quality of life for people with dementia and pain and those who support them.

A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators of Pain Management in Persons with Dementia

Approximately 50% of persons living with dementia experience pain, yet it is frequently undetected and inadequately managed resulting in adverse consequences. This review aims to synthesize evidence on the barriers and facilitators of pain management in persons living with dementia. PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science datasets were used for article searching. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed original articles written in English that examined the barriers and facilitators of pain management for persons living with dementia. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. A total of 26 studies were selected, including 18 qualitative and 3 quantitative (all high quality), as well as 5 mixed methods studies (low-to-high quality). Results were categorized into intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and policy categories. Factors that impact pain management in dementia include cognitive and functional impairment, healthcare workers' knowledge, collaboration and communication, healthcare workers' understanding of patients' baseline behaviors, observation of behaviors, pain assessment tool use, pain management consistency, staffing level, pain guideline/policy, and training. Overall, pain management is challenging in persons living with dementia. The results indicate that there is a need for multi-component interventions that involves multidisciplinary teams to improve pain management in persons living with dementia at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and policy levels. PERSPECTIVES: This review systematically synthesized barriers and facilitators of providing pain management in persons living with dementia. Results were presented in intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and policy categories and suggests that multicomponent interventions involving multidisciplinary teams are needed to systematically improve pain management in persons living with dementia.

Chronic pain through COVID

Objectives

To identify good practice in the community management of chronic pain, and to understand the perspective of a group of healthcare service users towards the management of chronic pain using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Forty-five people, recruited via social media and Pain Association Scotland, participated in three focus groups hosted over Zoom. Focus groups were conducted using semi-structured questions to guide the conversation. Data were analysed using Ritchie / Spencer's Framework Analysis.

Results

The participants shared observations of their experiences of remotely supported chronic pain services and insights into the potential for future chronic pain care provision. Experiences were in the majority positive with some describing their rapid engagement with technology during the COVID pandemic.

Conclusion

Results suggest there is strong potential for telehealth to complement and support existing provision of pain management services.

Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Therapy in Patients With Versus Without Dementia

INTRODUCTION

Discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy has increased in recent years, but whether this trend extends to patients with Alzheimer disease and related dementia remains unclear.

METHODS

Medicare data from 2011 to 2018 were analyzed to compare the trends in the use and discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy between patients with and without Alzheimer disease and related dementia who had chronic noncancer pain. Outcome measures were annual proportions of (1) patients who received long-term opioid therapy and (2) long-term opioid therapy users who subsequently discontinued opioids for ≥30, 60, or 90 days during 12-month follow-up. All analyses were performed in 2021.

RESULTS

The use of long-term opioid therapy decreased from 2011 to 2017 in both patients with and without Alzheimer disease and related dementia. In long-term opioid therapy users, discontinuation of opioids for ≥30, 60, and 90 days increased by 8% (95% CI=1.04, 1.12, p<0.001), 13% (95% CI=1.06, 1.20, p<0.001), and 18% (95% CI=1.10, 1.28, p<0.001), respectively, between 2011 and 2017 among patients with Alzheimer disease and related dementia, whereas the proportion was largely declining or unchanged among patients without the condition. Differences in long-term opioid therapy discontinuation by Alzheimer disease status widened over time (p<0.01 for interaction).

CONCLUSIONS

Discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy was consistently higher in patients with than in patients without Alzheimer disease and related dementia, with the gap between the 2 groups widening over time. The reasons for these differences and the risk-benefit of increased long-term opioid therapy discontinuation among patients with Alzheimer disease and related dementia warrant further investigation.

Comparative differences in musculoskeletal pain consultation and analgesic prescription for people with dementia: a UK-wide matched cohort study

ABSTRACT

Painful musculoskeletal conditions are common in older adults; however, pain identification, assessment, and management are reported to be suboptimal for people with dementia. Adequate pain management is an integral aspect of care for people with dementia to prevent or delay negative outcomes, such as behavioural and psychological changes, emergency department attendance, and premature nursing home admission. This study aims to examine musculoskeletal consultations and analgesic prescriptions for people with dementia compared with those for people without dementia. A dementia cohort (n = 36,582) and matched cohort were identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (a UK-wide primary care database). Period prevalence for musculoskeletal consultations and analgesic prescriptions was described, and logistic regression applied to estimate associations between dementia and musculoskeletal consultation or analgesic prescription from the time of dementia diagnosis to 5 years after diagnosis. People with dementia had a consistently (over time) lower prevalence and odds of musculoskeletal consultation and analgesic prescription compared with people without dementia. The evidence suggests that pain management may be suboptimal for people with dementia. These results highlight the need to increase awareness of pain and use better methods of pain assessment, evaluation of treatment response, and acceptable and effective management for people with dementia, in primary care.

Pain assessment and management in care homes: understanding the context through a scoping review

Background

Internationally, 2–5% of people live in residential or nursing homes, many with multi-morbidities, including severe cognitive impairment. Pain is frequently considered an expected part of old age and morbidity, and may often be either under-reported by care home residents, or go unrecognized by care staff. We conducted a systematic scoping review to explore the complexity of pain recognition, assessment and treatment for residents living in care homes, and to understand the contexts that might influence its management.

Methods

Scoping review using the methodological framework of Levac and colleagues. Articles were included if they examined pain assessment and/or management, for care or nursing home residents. We searched Medline, CINAHL, ASSIA, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar; reference lists were also screened, and website searches carried out of key organisations. Conversations with 16 local care home managers were included to gain an understanding of their perspective.

Results

Inclusion criteria were met by 109 studies. Three overarching themes were identified: Staff factors and beliefs - in relation to pain assessment and management (e.g. experience, qualifications) and beliefs and perceptions relating to pain. Pain assessment – including use of pain assessment tools and assessment/management for residents with cognitive impairment. Interventions - including efficacy/effects (pharmaceutical/non pharmaceutical), and pain training interventions and their outcomes.

Overall findings from the review indicated a lack of training and staff confidence in relation to pain assessment and management. This was particularly the case for residents with dementia.

Conclusions

Further training and detailed guidelines for the appropriate assessment and treatment of pain are required by care home staff. Professionals external to the care home environment need to be aware of the issues facing care homes staff and residents in order to target their input in the most appropriate way.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02333-4.

Education and training to support physiotherapists working in dementia care: a scoping review protocol

Background: The care of people with dementia is of global concern. Physiotherapeutic intervention can be of benefit to patients with dementia. Physiotherapists can play a role in assessment, falls prevention, pain management and gait re-education. Dementia care forms a significant part of the workload of a physiotherapist. However, there is a paucity of evidence on what constitutes effective education and training for physiotherapists working in dementia care.

Objective: This scoping review aims to explore and map the evidence on education and training for physiotherapists working in dementia care.

Inclusion criteria: Studies that explore dementia training and/or education for physiotherapists or for multidisciplinary teams, in which physiotherapists have been included. Studies that explore student physiotherapy training will also be considered. Qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods studies, case studies and observational studies will be included.

Methods: This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews. Databases to be searched as part of this review include: Medline, SocINDEX, CINAHL and, PsycINFO, with no limitation on publication date. Google Scholar and Open-Grey will be searched for grey literature, limited to the first 100 searches. Titles and abstracts will be screened for inclusion and identified full texts reviewed independently by two reviewers. Data will be extracted using a draft data extraction tool based on the JBI data extraction tool. A chronological narrative synthesis of the data will outline how the results relate to the aims and objective of this scoping review.

Pain management in community-dwelling older adults with moderate-to-severe dementia

BACKGROUND

This study explored visiting nurses' knowledge and beliefs regarding pain management in community-dwelling older adults with moderate-to-severe dementia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data in 2019. A questionnaire was mailed to nursing managers at 1037 home-visiting nursing stations in Japan.

FINDINGS

The final analysis included 230 responses. The mean score on the knowledge and belief statements was 14 out of a possible 18, and respondents with more pain management training obtained a higher total score on knowledge than those without such training (p<.001). More than 95% indicated that they needed training on pain management for older adults with dementia.

CONCLUSION

Visiting nurses in Japan require training in pain management for older adults with moderate-to-severe dementia. Despite its usefulness, the current pain management training programme should be improved to enable visiting nurses to manage dementia patients' pain more confidently.

Quality of opioid prescribing in older adults with or without Alzheimer disease and related dementia

Background

Pain is common among individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), and use of opioids has been increasing over the last decade. Yet, it is unclear to what extent opioids are appropriately prescribed for patients with ADRD and whether the appropriateness of opioid prescribing differs by ADRD status. The objective of this study is to compare the quality of opioid prescribing among patients with or without ADRD who have chronic noncancer pain.

Methods

A nationally representative cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 50 years or older who had chronic pain but who had no cancer, hospice, or palliative care from 2011 to 2015. Four indicators of potentially inappropriate opioid prescribing were measured in patients residing in communities (75,258 patients with and 435,870 patients without ADRD); five indicators were assessed in patients in nursing homes (NHs) (37,117 patients with and 5128 patients without ADRD). Each indicator was calculated as the proportion of eligible patients with inappropriate opioid prescribing in the year after a chronic pain diagnosis. Differences in proportions between ADRD and non-ADRD groups were estimated using a generalized linear model adjusting for covariates through inverse probability weighting.

Results

Patients with ADRD versus those without had higher concurrent use of opioids and central nervous system–active drugs (community 44.1% vs 33.3%; NH 58.8% vs 54.1%, both P < 0.001) and no opioids or scheduled pain medications for moderate or severe pain (NH 60.1% vs 52.5%, P < 0.001). The ADRD versus non-ADRD group had higher use of long-term opioids for treating neuropathic pain in communities (21.7% vs 19.5%, P = 0.003) but lower use in NHs (26.9% vs 36.0%, P < 0.001). Use of strong or high-dose opioids when naive to opioids (community 1.5% vs 2.8%; NH 2.5% vs 3.5%) and use of contraindicated opioids (community 0.08% vs 0.12%; NH 0.05% vs 0.21%) were rare for either group.

Conclusion

Potential inappropriate opioid prescribing in 2 areas of pain care was more common among patients with ADRD than among patients without ADRD in community or NH settings. Further studies aimed at understanding the factors and effects associated with opioid prescribing patterns that deviate from guidelines are warranted.

Primary dementia care based on the individual needs of the patient: study protocol of the cluster randomized controlled trial, DemStepCare

Background

Most people with dementia (PwD) are cared for at home, with general practitioners (GPs) playing a key part in the treatment. However, primary dementia care suffers from a number of shortcomings: Often, diagnoses are made too late and therapies by GPs do not follow the guidelines. In cases of acute crises, PwD are too often admitted to hospital with adverse effects on the further course of the disease.

The aim of this study is to implement and evaluate a new GP-based, complex dementia care model, DemStepCare. DemStepCare aims to ensure demand-oriented, stepped care for PwD and their caregivers.

Methods/design

In a cluster randomized controlled trial, the care of PwD receiving a complex intervention, where the GP is supported by a multi-professional team, is compared to (slightly expanded) usual care.

GPs are clustered by GP practice, with 120 GP practices participating in total. GP practices are randomized to an intervention or a control group. 800 PwD are to be included per group. Recruitment takes place in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. In addition, a second control group with at least 800 PwD will be formed using aggregated routine data from German health insurance companies. The intervention comprises the training of GPs, case management including repeated risk assessment of the patients’ care situation, the demand-oriented service of an outpatient clinic, an electronic case record, external medication analyses and a link to regional support services. The primary aims of the intervention are to positively influence the quality of life for PwD, to reduce the caregivers’ burden, and to reduce the days spent in hospital. Secondary endpoints address medication adequacy and GPs’ attitudes and sensitivity towards dementia, among others.

Discussion

The GP-based dementia care model DemStepCare is intended to combine a number of promising interventions to provide a complex, stepped intervention that follows the individual needs of PwD and their caregivers. Its effectiveness and feasibility will be assessed in a formative and a summative evaluation.

Trial registration

German Register of Clinical Trials (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS), DRKS00023560. Registered 13 November 2020 - Retrospectively registered. HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00023560.

Experimentally evoked pain in Alzheimer's disease

BACKGROUND

Pain continues to be underrecognized and undertreated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) while existing guidance about pain assessment and management in dementia is not widespread. Brain regions involved in pain processing and modulation are damaged during AD, and the pain experience in AD is not well understood. Experimental pain studies using psychophysics can further our understanding of the pain experience in AD, which may lead to improved assessment and management of pain in people living with AD.

OBJECTIVE

A systematic review was conducted to explicate the current understanding of experimentally evoked pain in AD from primary research using psychophysical methods.

DATA SOURCES

Peer-reviewed publications were found via PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. A total of 18 primary research, peer-reviewed full articles that met inclusion criteria were included, representing 929 total participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Experimentally evoked pain in people with AD demonstrates that despite cognitive impairment and a reduced ability to effectively communicate, individuals with AD experience pain similar to or more unpleasant than cognitively intact older adults. This may mean amplified pain unpleasantness in people with AD.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Our current best practices need to be widely disseminated and put into clinical practice. Self-report of pain continues to be the gold standard, but it is ineffective for noncommunicative patients and those unable to understand pain scales or instructions because of memory/cognitive impairment. Instead, pain treatment should be ethically initiated based on patient reports and behaviors, caregiver/surrogate reports, review of the medical record for painful conditions, analgesic trials, and regular reassessments.

Education and training to support physiotherapists working in dementia care: a scoping review protocol

Background: The care of people with dementia is of global concern. Physiotherapeutic intervention can be of benefit to patients with dementia. Physiotherapists can play a role in assessment, falls prevention, pain management and gait re-education. Dementia care forms a significant part of the workload of a physiotherapist. However, there is a paucity of evidence on what constitutes effective education and training for physiotherapists working in dementia care. Objective: This scoping review aims to explore and map the evidence on education and training for physiotherapists working in dementia care. Inclusion criteria: Studies that explore dementia training and/or education for physiotherapists or for multidisciplinary teams, in which physiotherapists have been included. Studies that explore student physiotherapy training will also be considered. Systematic reviews, qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods studies, case studies and observational studies will be included. Methods: This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews. Databases to be searched as part of this review include: Medline, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, SocINDEX, CINAHL and, PsycINFO, with no limitation on publication date. Google Scholar and Open-Grey will be searched for grey literature, limited to the first 100 searches.  Titles and abstracts will be screened for inclusion and identified full texts reviewed independently by two reviewers. Data will be extracted using a draft data extraction tool based on the JBI data extraction tool. A chronological narrative synthesis of the data will outline how the results relate to the aims and objective of this scoping review.

Policy Implications for Pain in Advanced Alzheimer's Disease

Untreated pain in people with Alzheimer's disease continues to be a serious public health problem. Pain is a subjective and complex experience that becomes increasingly challenging to assess as cognition declines. Our understanding of pain processing is incomplete, particularly for special populations such as people living with Alzheimer's disease, and especially in the advanced stages of the disease. Pain-processing networks in the brain are altered in Alzheimer's disease, yet evidence suggests people living with Alzheimer's disease do not experience less pain. Rather, their pain is not adequately recognized or treated. Although scholarly publications provide important assistance, recent widespread reports and guidelines do not include sufficient guidance, especially as Alzheimer's disease progresses to the last stages. Additionally, current pain measurements may not accurately evaluate pain in this condition, and the existing definitions of pain are not adequate when considering the effects of Alzheimer's disease on pain-processing in the brain. There is a need for new, widespread policies, guidelines, and definitions to help clinicians adequately manage pain in people with Alzheimer's disease. These will need to hinge on continued research because it remains unclear how Alzheimer's disease impacts central pain processing, pain expression, and communication of pain. In the meantime, policies and guidelines need to highlight current best practices as well as the fact that pain continues in Alzheimer's disease.

Portable EEG monitoring for older adults with dementia and chronic pain - A feasibility study

Given the reduced ability of people with dementia to self-report pain, this study examined the feasibility of using a portable electroencephalography (EEG) headband (MUSE 2) as a pain measurement tool for long-term care residents with dementia. Ten minutes of resting-state EEG was acquired by MUSE 2 from people with dementia experiencing ongoing pain (n = 3) and without current pain (n = 1) over three days. The MUSE 2 was acceptable and feasible for use in people with dementia while challenges regarding software, data collection and analysis in using this device are reported. Compared to the resident not experiencing pain, EEG signals of residents with ongoing pain showed different EEG patterns, and this could be a potential biomarker to support pain measurement in people with dementia. Further research with larger sample size is warranted to verify study results.

The objectivity and subjectivity of pain practices in older adults with dementia: A critical reflection

Providing nursing care for people with dementia residing in long-term care facilities poses specific challenges regarding pain practices. With underlying communication barriers unique to dementia pathologies, this population is often unable to communicate verbal sentiments and descriptions of pain. In turn, nurses caring for older persons with dementia have difficulty assessing, managing and treating pain. Objectivity is an imperative factor in healthcare pain practices; however, it is difficult to objectively evaluate someone who cannot accurately communicate their experience of pain. Therefore, the authors believe that subjectivity is also an essential part of evaluating the person with dementia's experience of pain. In this critical reflection, the authors explore objectivity and subjectivity in relation to pain practices for dementia in long-term care. A historical summary of pain is provided outlining the evolution of objectivity and subjectivity related to pain practices. The authors discuss the complexities of assessing and managing pain and offer a new perspective about the role of objectivity (and co-existence of subjectivity) for nurses treating pain in the older adults with dementia.

Pain in Older Adults With Dementia: A Survey in Spain

The risk of suffering pain increases significantly throughout life, reaching the highest levels in its latest years. Prevalence of pain in nursing homes is estimated to range from 40 to 80% of residents, most of them old adults affected with dementia. It is already known that pain is under-diagnosed and under-treated in patients with severe cognitive impairment and poor/absent verbal communication, resulting in a serious impact on their quality of life, psychosocial, and physical functioning. Under-treated pain is commonly the cause of behavioral symptoms, which can lead to misuse of antipsychotic treatments. Here, we present two Regional and National Surveys in Spain (2015–2017) on the current practices, use of observational tools for pain assessment, guidelines, and policies. Results, discussed as compared to the survey across central/north Europe, confirm the professional concerns on pain in severe dementia, due to poor standardization and lack of guidelines/recommendations. In Spain, observational tools are scarcely used because of their difficulty and low reliability in severe dementia, since the poor/absent verbal communication and comprehension are considered limiting factors. Behavioral observation tools should be used while attending the patients, in a situation including rest and movement, should be short (3–5 min) and scored using a numeric scale. Among the pain items to score, “Facial expression” and “Verbalization” were considered essential and very useful, respectively. This was in contrast to “Body movements” and “Vocalizations,” respectively, according to the survey in central/north Europe. Scarce time availability for pain assessment and monitoring, together with low feasible and time-consuming tools, can make pain assessment a challenge. The presence of confounding factors, the low awareness and poor knowledge/education of specific tools for this population are worrisome. These complaints draw future directions to improve pain assessment. More time available, awareness, and involvement of the teams would also benefit pain assessment and management in cognitive impairment. The experiences and opinions recorded in these surveys in Spain and other E.U. countries were considered sources of knowledge for designing the “PAIC-15 scale,” a new internationally agreed-on meta-tool for Pain Assessment in Impaired Cognition and the “Observational pain assessment” in older persons with dementia.

The Impact of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs on Older Adult Trauma Patients With Hip Fractures

BACKGROUND

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is frequently recommended for multimodal analgesia to reduce opioid use. We hypothesized that increased NSAID utilization will decrease opioid requirements without leading to significant complications in older adult trauma patients undergoing hip fracture repair.

METHODS

An observational cross-sectional cohort study of 190,057 adult trauma patients over a 6-y period (2008-2014) in the national Premier Healthcare Database was performed. Patients aged 65 or older undergoing femur repair and hip arthroplasty following fractures due to falls were analyzed. Primary outcome was opioid use, and secondary outcomes included transfusion requirements, length of stay (LOS), and organ system dysfunction. Continuous outcomes were analyzed using mixed-effect linear regression models to assess the effect of NSAIDs on the day of surgery. Fixed effects were included for patient and hospital characteristics, comorbidities, co-treatments, and surgery. Random intercepts for each hospital were included to control for clustering. Categorical outcomes were similarly analyzed using mixed-effect logistic regression models.

RESULTS

NSAIDs decreased opioids prescribed (12.01 versus 11.43 morphine milligram equivalents) (odds ratio [OR], -0.23; confidence interval [CI] = -0.41, -0.06) without overall increased bleeding (40.83% versus 43.18%; OR, 1.02; CI = 0.99, 1.05). NSAIDs were associated with reduced LOS (5.61 versus 5.96 d; CI = -0.24, -0.12), intensive care unit admissions (9.73% versus 10.59%; OR, 0.91; CI = 0.86, 0.96), and pulmonary complications (OR, 0.88; CI = 0.83, 0.93). Additionally, there was a 21% prescribing variability based solely on hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

NSAIDs were associated with decreased opioid requirements, hospital LOS, and intensive care unit admissions in older adult trauma patients without overall increase in bleeding. NSAIDs should be considered in multimodal pain regimens, moreover, given prescribing variability guidelines are needed.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, Prognostic.

The challenge of pain identification, assessment, and management in people with dementia: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Painful conditions are common in older adults, including people with dementia. The symptoms associated with dementia (for example, diminished language capacity, memory impairment, and behavioural changes), however, may lead to the suboptimal identification, assessment, and management of pain. Research has yet to qualitatively explore pain management for community-dwelling people with dementia.

AIM

To explore pain identification, assessment, and management for community-dwelling people with dementia.

DESIGN & SETTING

A qualitative study was undertaken, set in England.

METHOD

Semi-structured interviews took place with people with dementia, family caregivers, GPs, and old-age psychiatrists. Data were analysed thematically.

RESULTS

Interviews were conducted with eight people with dementia, nine family caregivers, nine GPs, and five old-age psychiatrists. Three themes were identified that related to pain identification and assessment: gathering information to identify pain; the importance of knowing the person; and the use of pain assessment tools. A further three themes were identified that related to pain management: non-drug strategies; concerns related to analgesic medications; and responsibility of the caregiver to manage pain.

CONCLUSION

Identifying and assessing the pain experienced by people with dementia was challenging. Most people with dementia, family caregivers, and healthcare professionals supported non-drug strategies to manage pain. The minimal concerns associated with non-drug strategies contrasted the multifactorial concerns associated with analgesic treatment for people with dementia. Given the complexity of pain identification, assessment, and management, primary care should work together with family caregivers and community services, with case finding for pain being considered in all assessment and management plans.

Changes in Pain Medication Profile among Patients Admitted to Specialized Home Palliative Care in Relation to Referral Source: An Exploratory Study

Pain is a common symptom leading to referrals to specialized home palliative care (SHPC) services and is known to affect patients' quality of life. To date, little is known about the impact of referral source on its management. To assess changes to pain medication profile in the course of SHPC and to identify potential differences in relation to referral source. This exploratory study is a retrospective analysis of 501 electronic medical records of a SHPC team in Germany. This included the assessment of baseline pain medication profiles according to the WHO analgesic ladder and changes to analgesic treatment in the course of SHPC with respect to referral source. At the time of admission, 77.4% of patients referred by a hospital and 78.8% of patients referred by the outpatient sector received a fixed analgesic regimen. In all, 61.9% of the inpatient group versus 62.9% of the outpatient group were treated with opioids, and 79.0% received modifications to pain medication at one point in time following admission. Thereby, patients referred by the outpatient sector received significantly earlier modifications and more supplementations of pain medication. Our study suggests positive development in the prescription of opioid analgesics compared to earlier studies in Germany. On the one hand, it highlights the relevance of thorough assessment and responsive evaluation of pain in SHPC, and on the other hand it reveals possible training needs of referring physicians, particularly those working in the outpatient sector. Our results inspired further research examining more closely the links between referral source and pain management.

Treating pain in patients with dementia and the possible concomitant relief of symptoms of agitation

Dementia is an irreversible, progressive form of cognitive dysfunction that can affect memory, learning ability, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, linguistic skills and executive function but which does not impair consciousness. Pain prevalence is high among the elderly who are also at elevated risk for dementia. Pain control for dementia patients is important but can be challenging for clinicians as cognitive deficits can make it difficult to identify, localize and assess pain. Cerebral changes associated with dementia may change how people process and experience pain in ways that are not entirely elucidated. Agitation is a frequent symptom of dementia and may be associated with untreated pain as agitation and aggression symptoms decrease when pain is effectively addressed.

Adjuvant Use and the Intensification of Pharmacologic Management for Pain in Nursing Home Residents with Cancer: Data from a US National Database

OBJECTIVES

Our objective was to describe the prevalence of adjuvants to opioid therapy and changes in these agents for pharmacologic management in nursing home residents with cancer.

METHODS

We included Medicare beneficiaries with cancer and documented opioid use at nursing home admission in 2011-2013 (N = 3268). The Minimum Data Set 3.0 provided information on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Part D claims provided information on opioid and adjuvant use during the 7 days after admission and 90 days later. Proportions of changes in these agents were estimated. Separate logistic models estimated associations between resident characteristics and (1) use of adjuvants at admission and (2) intensification of pharmacologic management at 90 days.

RESULTS

Nearly 20% of patients received adjuvants to opioids at admission, with gabapentin the most common adjuvant (34.4%). After 90 days, approximately 25% had maintained or intensified pharmacologic management. While advanced age (≥ 85 vs. 65-74 years, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-1.02) and comorbidities, including dementia (aOR 0.65; 95% CI 0.53-0.82) and depression (aOR 1.55; 95% CI 1.29-1.87), were associated with adjuvant use at admission, worse cognitive impairment (severe vs. no/mild, aOR 0.80; 95% CI 0.64-0.99) and presence of more severe pain (moderate/severe vs. no pain, aOR 1.60; 95% CI 1.26-2.03) were associated with intensification of drug regimen.

CONCLUSION

Given aging-related changes and the presence of comorbid conditions in older adults, safety studies of these practices are warranted.