20 May, 2024
- Many medicines that are commonly used in clinical practice are associated with anticholinergic activity
- The use of medicines with high anticholinergic activity is associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes for patients, especially older patients
- Anticholinergic scales can be used to identify medicines with anticholinergic activity and to assess the anticholinergic burden for an individual patient
- The anticholinergic activity of a medicines should be considered when initiating medicines in older people, and the total anticholinergic burden assessed at medication review or if there are concerns regarding cognitive function