4.6: Muscarinic Receptor Agonists

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Ernstmeyer & Christman (Eds.)
Chippewa Valley Technical College via OpenRN

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Pilocarpine is a muscarinic receptor agonist.

Mechanism of Action: Pilocarpine causes the ciliary muscle to contract, allowing for the drainage of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye and reducing intraocular pressure related to glaucoma.
Indication: Pilocarpine is used to treat glaucoma.
Nursing Considerations: Remove contact lens before administration. Apply light finger pressure on lacrimal sac for 2 minutes after instilling to minimize systemic absorption.
Patient Teaching & Education: Advise the patient to use caution with night driving. Additionally, use of this medication can cause hypotension.^{^[1]}

Now let’s take a closer look at the medication grid on pilocarpine in Table 4.6.^{^[2]}

Table 4:6 Pilocarpine Medication Grid
Class/Subclass	Prototype/Generic	Administration Considerations	Therapeutic Effects	Side/Adverse Effects
Muscarinic Agonist	pilocarpine	Remove contact lens before administration Apply light finger pressure on lacrimal sac for 2 minutes after instilling to minimize systemic absorption	Controls intraocular pressure in glaucoma	Caution with night driving

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