4.6 Muscarinic Receptor Agonists
Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN)
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 |
- uCentral from Unbound Medicine. https://www.unboundmedicine.com/ucentral ↵
- This work is a derivative of Daily Med by U.S. National Library of Medicine in the public domain. ↵
