"Anticholinergic scales" are defined as medication lists that classify drugs according to their anticholinergic potential. A patient's burden is the sum of the score for each drug included in the scale.

A total of 10 anticholinergic scales have been identified in the literature search*. They are as follows: Duran’s scale, Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACB), Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS), Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS), Chew’s scale, Clinician-Rated Anticholinergic Scale (CRAs), Anticholinergic Burden Classification (ABC), Anticholinergic Load Scale (ALS), Anticholinergic Activity Scale (AAS) and Drug Burden Index (DBI)

Drud Burden Index is based on the calculation of a simple mathematical formula that takes into account the prescribed dose and the minimum effective dose of the drug. It is a scale developed to measure exposure to anticholinergic drugs and sedatives.

To calculate the anticholinergic load:

  • You must enter the prescribed drugs.
  • If it does not appear in the dropdown list, it is not included in any scale.
  • If it is followed dose, you must enter the total daily dose taken by the patient.

If you want to save results of your patients, register as a user and press Patients

*A.M. Villalba-Moreno, et al., Systematic review on the use of anticholinergic scales in poly pathological patients, Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2015.10.002