ACB (Anticholinergic Burden) Calculator

The ACB (Anticholinergic Burden) Calculator assesses the cumulative effect of medications with anticholinergic properties on an individual's health. To calculate it, input the medications being taken, and the calculator will provide a score indicating the level of anticholinergic burden.

A higher ACB score suggests a greater risk of adverse effects, such as cognitive impairment or increased fall risk. To improve health based on the result, consider discussing medication adjustments with a healthcare provider, focusing on reducing or replacing high-burden medications, and monitoring for any side effects.

Total ACB Score:

• Drugs with possible anticholinergic burden score 1.
• Drugs with definite anticholinergic burden score 2 or 3.
• If you cannot find your medication listed in the calculator, you can assume it scores 0.

Many of the medications that we commonly prescribe have anticholinergic properties. In patients over 65 years of age these can cause adverse events, such as confusion, dizziness and falls. These have been shown to increase patient mortality.

You can use this calculator to work out the Anticholinergic Burden for your patients; a score of 3+ is associated with an increased cognitive impairment and mortality.

Whilst there are multiple different scoring systems, the German Anticholinergic Burden score and the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale have been demonstrated to show most validity and reliability. Therefore, we have used a combination of these 2 scales when creating the ACB calculator. When discrepancies arose, we opted to include the higher value in the interest of safety.