Pain evaluation scales for elderly patients with dementia

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Elderly people with dementia are impaired in the way they interpret and communicate pain, being important the use of specific tools for accurate diagnosis. This study aimed at summarizing literature data on tools for pain evaluation in hospitalized elderly patien...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andressa Caio Eira da Custódia, Flávia de Oliveira Motta Maia, Rita de Cassia Gengo e Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira para o Estudo da Dor
Series:Revista Dor
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-00132015000400288&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Elderly people with dementia are impaired in the way they interpret and communicate pain, being important the use of specific tools for accurate diagnosis. This study aimed at summarizing literature data on tools for pain evaluation in hospitalized elderly patients with dementia. CONTENTS: This is a literature review of the following databases: LILACS, Pubmed/Medline, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Cochrane, Web of Science and Joanna-Briggs Institute. Eligibility criteria were established for studies selection. A specific tool was used for critical evaluation. From 383 studies found, 4 were included in this review. Studies have evaluated the performance of 8 observational or self-report scales. CONCLUSION: Our study results suggest that observational and self-report scales may be used to evaluate pain in hospitalized elderly patients with dementia, provided the level of cognitive impairment is observed to select the scale, thus avoiding inadequate evaluations and consequently the undertreatment of pain.
ISSN:1806-0013
2317-6393