Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in elderly people

BMJ 1995;311:391 (5 August)

Letters

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in elderly people

Treat mild chronic pain with paracetamol initially

EDITOR,--In their editorial on the use of anti-inflammatorydrugs in elderly patients D N Bateman and J G Kennedy concludethat an alternative should be regular paracetamol or co-codamol.¹Even at the low concentration of 8 mg codeine phosphate mayproduce important adverse drug reactions or undesirable effectssuch as anorexia, constipation, and drowsiness in elderly people.Paracetamol and co-codamol should not be considered analogous,and initial treatment for mild chronic pain should be paracetamolalone.

Consultant physician Elderly Care Unit, St Thomas's Hospital,London SE1 7EH

Adrian H Hopper