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World J Anesthesiol. Mar 27, 2014; 3(1): 82-95
Published online Mar 27, 2014. doi: 10.5313/wja.v3.i1.82
Published online Mar 27, 2014. doi: 10.5313/wja.v3.i1.82
Regional anesthesia for acute pain management in elderly patients
Jinlei Li, Thomas M Halaszynski, Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT 06520-8051, United States
Author contributions: Li J and Halaszynski TM contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Thomas M Halaszynski, DMD, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, 333 Cedar Street, PO Box 208051, New Haven, CT 06520-8051, United States. thomas.halaszynski@yale.edu
Telephone: +1-203-7852804 Fax: +1-203-7856664
Received: June 27, 2013
Revised: September 13, 2013
Accepted: September 14, 2013
Published online: March 27, 2014
Revised: September 13, 2013
Accepted: September 14, 2013
Published online: March 27, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: Perioperative advancements has made operating on the elderly more safe, however, aging involves functional reserve loss and older patients often present with co-morbidities. Regional may prove instrumental and permit operations on those who are not ideal candidates, reduce incidence of adverse effects, optimize pain control, provide medical care alternatives and may reduce financial impact on healthcare systems (early ambulation, shorter hospital stay). Understanding of aging, together with improvements in regional will make it safe to operate on the elderly with reduced morbidity and mortality. Regional plays an important role in pain control, decreases management complications and can reduce healthcare costs.