Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34837340›Full record

ArticleBasic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology2022

High anticholinergic burden at admission associated with in-hospital mortality in older patients: A comparison of 19 different anticholinergic burden scales.

Angela Lisibach, Giulia Gallucci, Patrick E Beeler, Chantal Csajka, Monika Lutters

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Anticholinergic Medication Burden Scales: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Angela LisibachClinical Pharmacy, Department Medical Services, Cantonal Hospital of Baden, Baden, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8697-492X
Giulia GallucciClinical Pharmacy, Department Medical Services, Cantonal Hospital of Baden, Baden, Switzerland.
Patrick E BeelerDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6097-2480
Chantal CsajkaCenter for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Monika LuttersClinical Pharmacy, Department Medical Services, Cantonal Hospital of Baden, Baden, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although no gold standard exists to assess a patient's anticholinergic burden, a review identified 19 anticholinergic burden scales (ABSs). No study has yet evaluated whether a high anticholinergic burden measured with all 19 ABSs is associated with in-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS). We conducted a cohort study at a Swiss tertiary teaching hospital using patients' electronic health record data from 2015-2018. Included were patients aged ≥65 years, hospitalised ≥48 h without stays and >24 h in intensive care. Patients' cumulative anticholinergic burden score was classified using a binary (<3: low, ≥3: high) and categorical approach (0: no, 0.5-3: low, ≥3: high). In-hospital mortality and LOS were analysed using multivariable logistic and linear regression, respectively. We included 27,092 patients (mean age 78.0 ± 7.5 years, median LOS 6 days). Of them, 913 died. Depending on the evaluated ABS, 1370 to 17,035 patients were exposed to anticholinergics. Patients with a high burden measured by all 19 ABSs were associated with a 1.32- to 3.03-fold increase in in-hospital mortality compared with those with no/low burden. We obtained similar results for LOS. To conclude, discontinuing drugs with anticholinergic properties (score ≥3) at admission might be a targeted intervention to decrease in-hospital mortality and LOS.

Indexed as

Hospital MortalityAgedAged, 80 and overCholinergic AntagonistsCohort StudiesElectronic Health RecordsFemaleHospitalizationHospitals, TeachingHumansIntensive Care UnitsLength of StayMaleRetrospective StudiesSwitzerlandTertiary Care CentersCholinergic Antagonistsanticholinergic burdenin-hospital mortalitylength of stayolder patients

Identifiers

PMID34837340
PMCPMC9299782

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.