TY - JOUR T1 - Anticipatory syringe pumps: benefits and risks JF - BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO - BMJ Support Palliat Care SP - 303 LP - 304 DO - 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002735 VL - 11 IS - 3 AU - Ben Bowers AU - Kristian Pollock AU - Andrew Dickman AU - Richella Ryan AU - Stephen Barclay Y1 - 2021/09/01 UR - http://spcare.bmj.com/content/11/3/303.abstract N2 - We welcome the Association of Supportive and Palliative Care Pharmacy’s (ASPCP) recent position statement that the perceived benefit of the anticipatory prescribing of a syringe pump (driver) does not outweigh potential risks.1 This is an area of practice which has needed clear national guidance for some time.2 The committee cited the following specific risks:A lack of individualisation.No anticipation of dose/drug changes between prescribing and initiation.Administration errors.1 Given these risks, it is of concern that anticipatory syringe pump prescribing appears relatively common in some areas of the UK and is perhaps increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic.3 Population-level information is lacking on how many patients are prescribed or commenced on syringe pumps at home, although they are common in generalist community palliative care.4 5 Immediately pre-COVID, we completed a retrospective observational study of anticipatory medication practice in primary care (paper submitted for publication). We reviewed 329 patient records from 11 general practitioner (GP) practices (30 most recent predictable deaths per practice) in two English counties. Anticipatory syringe pumps were prescribed for 49/167 (29.3%) patients issued with anticipatory medications, with considerable variation in frequency between GP practices, ranging from 10/14 patients (71.4%) to 1/16 patients (6.3%) across practices. Prescription timing … ER -