Anticholinergics and dementia

[WisNeuro]

Anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia: case-control study

This article is making the news rounds. Nothing really all that novel, but maybe patients will start looking at their med regimen a little more closely. And maybe my referral sources won't be surprised when I ask them to consider changing their patients med regimen when it includes about 6 drugs with an ACB rating of 3. Ah, it feels good to dream.

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[mk04447]

This is nothing new. You sound like docs look at you funny for suggesting a med change, shouldn't be the case if you are referring to something addressed by the Beers criteria?

 

[WisNeuro]

This is nothing new. You sound like docs look at you funny for suggesting a med change, shouldn't be the case if you are referring to something addressed by the Beers criteria?

Exactly, I noted the lack of a novel finding here. But, you would be surprised at the lack of knowledge on what is and is not a strong anticholinergic in the medical community. I refer my referral sources to the ACB and Beers all the time. Unnecessary polypharmacy is real, yo. I've lost count of how many of my geriatric patients have been prescribed Benadryl and quetiapine for sleep.

 

[mk04447]

Exactly, I noted the lack of a novel finding here. But, you would be surprised at the lack of knowledge on what is and is not a strong anticholinergic in the medical community. I refer my referral sources to the ACB and Beers all the time. Unnecessary polypharmacy is real, yo. I've lost count of how many of my geriatric patients have been prescribed Benadryl and quetiapine for sleep.

They know, they just don't care for a myriad of reasons. In their defense, what my be unnecessary to us is often not negotiable with the patient or they've been taking the thing for an extended period with good results. Still a problem, but not due to ignorance in most cases.

 

[WisNeuro]

They know, they just don't care for a myriad of reasons. In their defense, what my be unnecessary to us is often not negotiable with the patient or they've been taking the thing for an extended period with good results. Still a problem, but not due to ignorance in most cases.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I'd say half of the time when I talk directly to the provider they did not know some medications had that effect. At the very least, they should be having a conversation with the patient about the possible side effects. It's rare that a patient comes in with a thought that their meds may be contributing to their cognitive issues.