OBJECTIVES

Prostatic hyperplasia is frequent in the elderly, and it can be associated with urinary retention in patients who use cholinergic antagonists. The objective of this study was to estimate the anticholinergic burden of drugs prescribed to patients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia in Colombia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: the study was conducted in outpatients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia who were identified from a population database from Colombia and sociodemographic variables, comorbidities, pharmacological and drug interactions were identified. Measures: The anticholinergic burden was evaluated using the Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS), and patients were classified on a scale of 0-3 points according to anticholinergic potential.

RESULTS

A total of 3760 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia were identified, with a mean age of 68.26±10.46 years. Of these patients, 2961 (78.8%) received pharmacological treatment mainly with tamsulosin monotherapy (34.7%, n=1026). Overall, 34.7% (n=1303) of all patients were taking cholinergic antagonists, especially furosemide (7.8%). Patients aged 75-84 years (OR:1.98, 95%CI:1.063-3.709) and those 85 years or older (OR:2.52, 95%CI:1.287-4.948) had a greater probability of having an anticholinergic burden score greater than or equal to 3 points. Of the patients not receiving pharmacological treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia, 35.0% (n=280) were taking medications with anticholinergic properties.

CONCLUSIONS

A high proportion of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia were receiving medical management for the relief of symptoms, mostly via monotherapy. However, one-third of patients received some type of medication with anticholinergic properties, being much more frequent after 75 years