AGS Pain Guidelines

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) ²⁴ Clinical Practice Guidelines issued in 1998 for the Management of Chronic Pain in Older Persons are an important tool for health care professionals who care for older persons. The main objectives of AGS were to develop clinical practice guidelines specifically for the management of chronic non cancer-related pain in older persons and to provide the clinician with an overview of broad principles of chronic pain management as they apply specifically to older people.

The 1998 AGS Guidelines address four areas

• Assessment of chronic pain in older persons
• Pharmacologic treatments including acetaminophen, NSAIDs, and opioid analgesics
• Nonpharmacologic strategies for pain management
• Recommendations for health systems that care for older persons

The Guidelines were updated in 2002^24a and entitled, “The Management of Persistent Pain in Older Persons”. The new guidelines place emphasis on “unethical use of placebos, enhanced safety of COX-2 inhibitors over conventional NSAIDs in the elderly, the use of opioids earlier in the process, and management of neuropathic pain.

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