This advice is sourced from Dr Ros Taylor a senior palliative physician
Q. How do I decide when it is appropriate to start a syringe pump? And where can I find information on how and where to prescribe medication for this?
Syringe pumps are used at 3 main points in a patients illness:
- When a person is persistently vomiting e.g. in cases of bowel obstruction, and unable to keep medicines down. A pump allows anti-sickness and pain medicines to be absorbed
- When doses of pain medicine need to be titrated up quickly to find the best dose - when the dose is established, medicines can often switch back to the oral route
- Most commonly, syringe pumps are used in the last weeks and days when swallowing has become more difficult, or the person is too drowsy to swallow. The pump allows the continuation of pain relief and other symptom control medicines, without the burden of multiple tablets
A good source of information on syringe pumps can be found in the West Midlands Guidelines:
Top Tip
- When starting a syringe pump remember to review the oral medications to avoid duplication of dose. E.g. if inserting oxycodone into a pump, you will need to stop the oral modified release version