BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine if serum anticholinergic activity (SACA) arises from endogenous substances produced during illness. METHODS Elderly medical inpatients (N = 612) were screened for anticholinergic medication use in the week prior to the study by interviews of subjects and proxies and review of emergency room, hospital, and nursing home medication administra...

BACKGROUND Anticholinergic drugs in elderly people have been associated with some serious side-effects. Patients in Turkey tend to attend primary care centers to have prescriptions of the drugs they chronically use. However, very little are known about how frequent that these drugs are prescribed and their side-effects in Turkish population. We aimed to investigate the usage and side-effects of...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effect of individual educational visits versus group visits using academic detailing to discuss prescribing of highly anticholinergic antidepressants in elderly people. DESIGN Randomised controlled trial with three arms (individual visits, group visits, and a control arm). SETTING Southwest Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS 190 general practitioners and 37 pharmacists org...

BACKGROUND Older people are commonly prescribed multiple medications, including medications with anticholinergic effects. Polypharmacy and anticholinergic medications may be risk factors for the development of delirium. METHODS Patients from a medical admission unit who were over 70, with DSM-IV diagnosed delirium and patients without delirium, were investigated. Number of drugs prescribed on...

BACKGROUND The prescribing cascade model involves the misinterpretation of an adverse reaction to 1 drug and the subsequent, potentially inappropriate prescription of a second drug. We present a new example of the prescribing cascade involving cholinesterase inhibitors and anticholinergic drugs used to manage urinary incontinence. METHODS A population-based retrospective cohort study was carr...

Anticholinergic drugs are frequently used in psychiatry for the prophylaxis and treatment of extrapiramidal symptoms caused by neuroleptics. Abuse of anticholinergic agents has been reported in patients with psychotic disorders, on treatment with neuroleptics, and polysubstance use disorders. We are reporting the case of a patient who presented with hypoactive delirium as a consequence of biper...

Gastrointestinal complications of anticholinergic medications are prevalent, potentially life-threatening, and could be more actively prevented. We present a case report of an ileus that required surgical intervention and developed in the context of clozapine, benztropine, and fluoxetine use. The case exemplifies the potential anticholinergic toxicities of clozapine and benztropine as well as p...