Anti-psychotics in pediatric patients : Anti-psychotics in pediatrics

Safety, and Guidelines DATE: 27 November 2008 CONTEXT AND POLICY ISSUES: The prescribing of anti-psychotic medications among pediatric populations has been increasing significantly over the last fifteen years.1,2 A study from the United Kingdom reported a doubling in the prevalence of use of anti-psychotics between 1992 and 2005 among children and adolescents.1 In that study, the prevalence of use [...] The quality of six of the trials was judged to be fair, while the quality of the placebo-controlled trial of olanzapine was judged to be poor. [...] Specifically, there was a mean difference of 17.00 in the CGAS (95%CI:7.74,26.26) and a mean difference of -3.60 in the B-HPRS (95%CI:- 6.64,-0.56) in favor of clozapine over haloperidol in treatment resistant childhood-onset schizophrenia. [...] They were the result of a consensus reached by a group of 20 clinicians and members of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF) over a six-month period, and were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). [...] The description of these U. S. guidelines were preceded by a review of the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of six atypical anti-psychotics in bipolar disorder (clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole), however the methodology used for this review and subsequent derivation of the guidelines was not described.