Observational studyPalliative medicine2022
Unwelcome memento mori or best clinical practice? Community end of life anticipatory medication prescribing practice: A mixed methods observational study.
Observational study in Palliative medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accessing and Administering Anticipatory Medications for Community End-of-Life Symptom Control: A Qualitative Focus Group Study.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Article
- Mapping patient journeys: Exploring patient and informal carer experiences of injectable anticipatory medication care in the community to identify opportunities for practice improvements.Palliative medicine · 2026Article
- Revealing the hidden harms in end-of-life care: a mixed-methods characterisation of reported safety incidents involving injectable symptom control medication.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Learning from end-of-life injectable medication patient safety incidents in the community: a mixed-methods analysis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Challenges to timely access to out-of-hours end-of-life medications: a qualitative study in UK primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Multiple points of system failure underpin continuous subcutaneous infusion safety incidents in palliative care: A mixed methods analysis.Palliative medicine · 2025Article
- Anticipatory prescribing of injectable controlled drugs (ICDs) in care homes: a qualitative observational study of staff role, uncertain dying and hospital transfer at the end-of-life.BMC geriatrics · 2024Observational
- The financial costs of anticipatory prescribing: A retrospective observational study of prescribed, administered and wasted medications using community clinical records.Palliative medicine · 2023Observational
- Simultaneously reassuring and unsettling: a longitudinal qualitative study of community anticipatory medication prescribing for older patients.Age and ageing · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAnticipatory medications are injectable drugs prescribed ahead of possible need for administration if distressing symptoms arise in the final days of life. Little is known about how they are prescribed in primary care.
aimTo investigate the frequency, timing and recorded circumstances of anticipatory medications prescribing for patients living at home and in residential care.
designRetrospective mixed methods observational study using General Practitioner and community nursing clinical records. SETTING/
participants329 deceased adult patients registered with Eleven General Practitioner practices and two associated community nursing services in two English counties (30 most recent deaths per practice). Patients died from any cause except trauma, sudden death or suicide, between 4 March 2017 and 25 September 2019.
resultsAnticipatory medications were prescribed for 167/329 (50.8%) of the deceased patients, between 0 and 1212 days before death (median 17 days). The likelihood of prescribing was significantly higher for patients with a recorded preferred place of death (odds ratio [OR] 34; 95% CI 15-77;
conclusionThe variability in the timing of prescriptions highlights the challenges in diagnosing the end-of-life phase and the potential risks of prescribing far in advance of possible need. Patient and family views and experiences of anticipatory medication care, and their preferences for involvement in prescribing decision-making, warrant urgent investigation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.