Exposure to Anticholinergic Medications in Pediatric Severe Sepsis and Feasibility of Delirium Screening.

In sepsis, anticholinergic dysregulation may result in encephalopathy or delirium during severe illness, either as a result of central inflammation or because of exposure to medications with anticholinergic activity. In this retrospective study, we determined the magnitude of anticholinergic drug exposure in 75 children with severe sepsis. We found that exposure over the first 5 days was high-median (interquartile range) daily anticholinergic drug scale score 4 (2-5)-and associated with higher vasoactive scores and death. We conclude that anticholinergic drug exposure is significant in severe sepsis, which means it may be a modifiable factor that should be studied further.