(chiefly of a drug) inhibiting the physiological action of acetylcholine, especially as a neurotransmitter.
‘Main outcome measures: Numbers of elderly people with new prescriptions of highly anticholinergic antidepressants and less anticholinergic antidepressants.’
‘He thought for a minute and added, ‘So, if we improve cognition by increasing acetylcholine, it makes sense that anticholinergic drugs can make dementia a lot worse.’’
‘Antihistamine and anticholinergic drugs are relatively inexpensive.’
‘Although statistically significant, the differences between anticholinergic drugs and placebo were small, apart from the increased rate of dry mouth in patients receiving active treatment.’
‘Thyrotoxicosis, anticholinergic drug poisoning, and amphetamine or cocaine use can result in signs of increased sympathetic activity and altered mental status.’
‘Older men with prostatic hypertrophy may benefit from alpha-blocker medications and should be watched for urinary retention if anticholinergic drugs are employed.’
‘Amantadine, anticholinergic drugs, selegiline, and non-pharmacological treatments (such as physical therapy) provide symptomatic relief in mildly affected patients.’
‘They dismiss conventional medical treatment with anticholinergic drugs as inconvenient, unpleasant, and temporary, and they say that patients usually stop using anticholinergic drugs because of a dry mouth.’
‘Pharmacologic treatment of overactive bladder symptoms is based on the use of anticholinergic drugs that block the parasympathetic pathways and reduce detrusor muscle contraction.’
‘This study demonstrates that moderate to severe dry mouth is common in patients treated with anticholinergic drugs.’
‘Examples of anticholinergic drugs include atropine and ipratropium (Atrovent).’
‘Until further research in primary care settings is performed, there is little evidence to guide family physicians in the choice of anticholinergic medications for urge incontinence.’
‘The administration of antihypertensive and anticholinergic medications also impairs salivary functions and promotes xerostomia.’
‘Nonetheless, the available anticholinergic drugs (atropine and ipratropium bromide) have limited effects, perhaps because of their nonselectivity.’
‘Use of the anticholinergic drug atropine during tap-water iontophoresis sometimes is helpful, but extreme caution is necessary to avoid toxicity from atropine overdose.’
‘In each of these cases, once the iatrogenic etiology of this syndrome was recognized, the patients' symptoms improved rapidly and dramatically with administration of anticholinergic medication.’
‘This agent crosses the blood-brain barrier and thereby reverses both central and peripheral effects of the abused anticholinergic drug.’
‘Dry mouth is the most common complaint with the oral anticholinergic drugs oxybutynin and tolterodine.’
‘If these measures are not successful, an anticholinergic drug may control the pain.’
‘Medical management consists of maintenance therapy with anticholinergic inhibitors such as pyridostigmine to relieve symptoms and steroids to treat the autoimmunity.’
noun
An anticholinergic drug.
‘Both antihistamines and anticholinergics can have anticholinergic side effects, including dry mouth, urinary retention, blurred vision, and exacerbation of narrow-angle glaucoma.’
‘Probably the most common medications used for the treatment of incontinence fall into the general category of anticholinergics or drugs designed to ‘relax’ the bladder.’
‘These drugs are called anticholinergics and include oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium chloride, and propiverine.’
‘Dry mouth, which can be brought on by neuroleptics, antidepressants, and anticholinergics, may worsen the problem.’
‘Agreement among guidelines is much greater regarding treatment - currently supporting the use of inhaled anticholinergics and antibiotics for initial treatment.’
‘They recommend anticholinergics and antihistamines for the treatment of nausea associated with vertigo or motion sickness.’
‘Short-term use of anticholinergics or antidiarrheal agents may be effective in combating incontinence associated with diarrhea.’
‘Medications that may worsen confusion include anticholinergics, analgesics, cimetidine, central nervous system depressants, lidocaine, and other medications.’
‘New medications, particularly anticholinergics and psychotropic medicines, should be the first suspects if there is a change in a patient's mental status.’
‘Because even small amounts can be fatal, anticholinergics constitute the most dangerous class of abused drugs.’
‘Thus, in 1914, anticholinergics by injection or inhalation were considered as first-line asthma therapies.’
‘Moreover, anticholinergics do not appear to be effective for patients whose initial response to beta-agonists is impaired, and at this point, there is no clear consensus regarding their use.’
‘Returning to our clinical scenario, we would recommend that our five-year-old patient with a moderate asthma exacerbation receive anticholinergics in addition to the [beta.sub.2] agonists and oral steroid therapy.’
‘Acute care of an asthma exacerbation involves the use of inhaled [beta.sub.2] agonists delivered by a metered-dose inhaler with a spacer, or a nebulizer, supplemented by anticholinergics in more severe exacerbations.’
‘Concomitant use of anticholinergics and beta 2 agonists may be beneficial to the older patient’
‘Despite these uncertainties, anticholinergics are increasingly being used in both primary care and secondary care for the treatment of overactive bladder, and this has considerable implications for resources.’
‘Anticholinergics have been used in an attempt to decrease gastric secretions and increase pH. As with the use of nasogastric tubes, anticholinergics do not decrease hospital stay or pain.’
‘However, the effect of chronic treatment with anticholinergics on airway remodeling, responsiveness, and changes in lung function in patients with asthma is thus far unclear.’
‘The most typical side effect of anticholinergics is dry mouth; other side effects include blurred vision, constipation, nausea, dizziness, and headache.’
‘The medications most often used to help children with neurogenic bladder are called anticholinergics.’
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