Medication evidence profile
Darifenacin
Clinical overview
Bladder antimuscarinic
Darifenacin has public medication-list entries in Yamada-ABS 2023, BAAS 2019, Swe-ABS 2023, GABS 2018, and CALS 2022 Table 4. These are 5 separate source versions, each with its own evidence and definitions.
Source-specific scores
| Source | Score |
|---|---|
| JARS | Not listed |
| Yamada-ABS | 3 |
| BAAS | 3 |
| Swe-ABS | 3 |
| GABS | 3 |
| KABS | Not listed |
| CALS | 3 |
How to read this: 0 means the source explicitly assigned zero. “Not listed” means the source did not provide a score for this medication. Scores from different scales are not averaged.
How to interpret the evidence
5 of 7 public source versions contain an explicit medication-list entry for darifenacin.
The available rows for darifenacin display the same numeric value. Agreement of the displayed numbers does not establish identical methods, clinical meaning or patient-level risk.
None of the public rows in this profile is an explicit zero. An unlisted source still supplies no value.
Source labels and provenance · 5 observations
- Yamada Pharmacological Anticholinergic Burden Scale 2023
Source label: Darifenacin. Published value: 3.
Source version: YAMADA-ABS-2023
Source location: RC4 source recovery; recovery_scope=primary_nonzero_complete
Observation: YAMADA_ABS_2023_R0082; rating state: published_rating. - Brazilian Anticholinergic Activity Scale 2019
Source label: Darifenacin. Published value: 3.
Source version: BAAS-2019
Source location: RC4 source recovery; recovery_scope=primary_table_complete
Observation: BAAS_2019_R0017; rating state: published_rating. - Swedish Anticholinergic Burden Scale 2023
Source label: Darifenacin. Published value: 3.
Source version: SWE-ABS-2023
Source location: RC4 source recovery; recovery_scope=primary_final_nonzero_complete
Observation: SWE_ABS_2023_R0089; rating state: published_rating. - German Anticholinergic Burden Score 2018
Source label: Darifenacin. Published value: 3.
Source version: GABS-2018
Source location: RC4 source recovery; recovery_scope=primary_nonzero_complete
Observation: GABS_2018_R0130; rating state: published_rating. - CALS 2022 - primary final Table 4
Source label: Darifenacin. Published value: 3.
Source version: CALS-2022-primary-table4
Source location: Table 4; literal capture row 132; displayed table row 19; displayed column 6
Observation: CALS2022_T4_0132; rating state: published_final_table_rating.
Class context — bladder antimuscarinics
These medications are included in the 2023 AGS strong-anticholinergic reference list. The source cautions that comparative cognitive-risk evidence across individual bladder antimuscarinics is inconsistent; the class module does not establish a within-class ranking.
Older-adult medication context
AGS Beers context: classification and criteria
- Table 7: Strong-anticholinergic reference listing.
- Table 2: A separate general-avoid criterion is not mapped for this medication in this supplement. This is a coverage statement, not a safety conclusion.
Source-scale observations and geriatric criteria answer different questions. The Beers material does not alter any score above.
Adults 65 years and older; intended for ambulatory, acute, and institutional care except hospice/end-of-life settings.
Condition-specific and medication-combination contexts
Table 3: clinical conditions
Condition-specific contexts: delirium or high delirium risk, dementia or cognitive impairment, and history of falls or fractures. Applicability depends on the condition and the relevant source criterion.
Table 5: cumulative anticholinergic exposure
Concurrent use of more than one anticholinergic medication should be minimized because cumulative exposure increases geriatric safety concerns.
Potentially inappropriate does not mean absolutely contraindicated. Apply the criterion in clinical context and use shared decision-making.
What this page does not establish
- No medication-list entry is available here from JARS 2025 and KABS 2020 open validation supplement. These gaps remain “Not listed”; no score is inferred from another source or from class membership.
- No route inference unless present in the source label.
- These source records do not estimate an individual’s probability of harm or establish whether to start, stop or change a medication. Ordinal source scores are not averaged into a UnifiedACB score.
References
- Yamada S, Mochizuki M, Chimoto J, Futokoro R, Kagota S, Shinozuka K. Development of a pharmacological evidence-based anticholinergic burden scale for medications commonly used in older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2023;23(7):558-564. doi:10.1111/ggi.14619. Open source
- Nery RT, Reis AMM. Development of a Brazilian anticholinergic activity drug scale. Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2019;17(2):eAO4435. doi:10.31744/einstein_journal/2019AO4435. Open source
- Rube T, Ecorcheville A, Londos E, Modig S, Johansson P. Development of the Swedish anticholinergic burden scale (Swe-ABS). BMC Geriatr. 2023;23(1):518. doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04225-1. Open source
- Kiesel EK, Hopf YM, Drey M. An anticholinergic burden score for German prescribers: score development. BMC Geriatr. 2018;18(1):239. doi:10.1186/s12877-018-0929-6. Open source
- Ramos H, Moreno L, Pérez-Tur J, Cháfer-Pericás C, García-Lluch G, Pardo J. CRIDECO Anticholinergic Load Scale: an updated anticholinergic burden scale. Comparison with the ACB Scale in Spanish individuals with subjective memory complaints. J Pers Med. 2022;12(2):207. doi:10.3390/jpm12020207. Open source
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