Self-medication with pilocarpine among outpatients in a glaucoma clinic

A recording medication monitor and fluorescein technique were used to study self-medication by 82 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma for whom pilocarpine eye drops 3 times a day had been prescribed. Of these patients 34 (41%) missed 6 or more doses during a 20-day period, and for 35 (43%) an 8-hour dose interval was exceeded at least 20% of the time. Consequences may include lack of effectiveness in preventing visual loss and unnecessary prescription of more potent, and more toxic, drugs.