Prevalence of Anticholinergics in Geriatric Patients With Acute Functional Deterioration

This study investigates the anticholinergic burden on patients seen in the Subacute mobile outpatient geriatric clinic in Aalborg, Denmark, between the years of 2024 and 2025.

The age demographic in Denmark and multiple other countries is changing rapidly, with more old and very old individuals as a result. As humans become older, they tend to accumulate more illnesses, and the risk of polypharmacy increases. There is a wide selection of medicine that affect the binding of acetylcholine to the muscarinic receptors, which is either the intended function of the pharmacological product or a side effect.

Since there is no built-in feature in computer systems used by doctors to calculate the cumulative anticholinergic burden, it is often not recognized, thus not reflected upon.

This raises concerns about potential central and peripheral side effects, such as altered mental status, visual disturbances, tachycardia, urinary and fecal retention, dry skin etc.

The study aims to determine the prevalence of anticholinergics in the last 100 patients seen by the Subacute mobile outpatient geriatric clinic in Aalborg University Hospital. The patients are placed in municipal extended-care facilities. Furthermore, the study will investigate the prevalence of anticholinergic side effects concerning the burden on this population.

The study is a retrospective chart review of patient charts from the years of 2024 and 2025, analyzing patient characteristics, comorbidities, medication lists, and calculating the anticholinergic burden through the ACB calculator.