Madhuri Reddy, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook and Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON.

Chronic wound pain adversely affects quality of life and causes functional impairment in the older adult. As the population ages and the prevalence of chronic illness increases, an explosion in the number of chronic wounds is expected in both long-term care and community care. Chronic wounds have a myriad of causes and complications, and care can be complex. The most common types of chronic wounds include venous stasis ulcers, diabetic ulcers and pressure ulcers. There is a paucity of clinical trials of chronic wound pain management in the older patient. In the absence of an adequate evidence base, we present a comprehensive clinical approach to chronic wound pain management.
Key words: chronic wounds, pain, venous stasis, diabetes, pressure.