Pain and dementia: what to consider?

Abstract

Pain history should be adapted to their cognitive abilities of people with dementia who can still communicate. With increasing limitations of communication skills, history of a third party and standardized observation instruments increase in importance. Non-drug therapies are hardly investigated for pain therapy in people with dementia. The few data on drug pain therapy prove the effectiveness and good tolerability of paracetamol even in people with dementia. Opioids and coanalgetics have hardly been studied in this group although frequently used. Anticholinergic side effects are especially important in people with dementia.