Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the association between polypharmacy, anticholinergic burden, comorbidities, and hospital length of stay in older adults. We analyzed 213 older in-patient data retrospectively. Demographic data, comorbidities, length of stay, medication use, and laboratory results at admission were extracted from electronic medical records. We used a calculator to work out Anticholinergic Burden (ACB). The use of five or more drugs was considered polypharmacy. The mean age was 78±7.3 years; 54.5% of patients were female. The mean length of stay of patients was 20.7±13.8 days. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 66.2% (n:141), and 182 (85.4%) of the patients were treated with anticholinergic medications. 52.6% had high ACB scores (ACB score 3 and more). The most used drugs with anticholinergic potential were metoprolol (40.4%) and metformin (32.4%). Polypharmacy was identified as a risk factor for the presence of high ACB with 86% sensitivity and 55% specificity. (OR 0.758 95% CI: 0.692-0.824, p:

Key words: Anticholinergic burden score, polypharmacy, comorbidities, length of stay, older adults