- Title Information
- Title
- Psychopharmacological Treatment in Very Young Children with Severe Psychopathology: A Descriptive Study of Use and Adverse Effects
- Abstract
- Objectives: Psychotropic medication prescription rates for preschool age children are steadily increasing, despite underrepresentation of this age group in literature and the higher risk of adverse drug events (AE). A previous Bradley Hospital Pediatric Partial Hospital Program study found that fluoxetine was the most frequently AE-associated antidepressant (41.2%), followed by stimulants (methylphenidate: 22.7%; mixed amphetamine salts: 21.4%). This follow-up study aimed 1) to describe psychotropic medication use in this early childhood partial hospital program and 2) to characterize parent-reported AE of antidepressants and antipsychotics.
Methods: Participants were 172 children (131 males; age 3 to 7 years) admitted to the Pediatric Partial Hospital Program for severe emotional and behavioral problems as indicated by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores significantly above the clinical cutoff (71.3 ± 9.7 [1.5-5 years], 70.5 ± 7.3 [6-18 years]). A medication tracking form was completed for each participant by a psychiatric nurse and reviewed by the program psychiatrist, documenting medication changes over the course of admission. A retrospective chart review was conducted to document parent-reported AE.
Results: Most participants (78%) were prescribed psychiatric medications, most frequently 1) alpha-agonists (58%); 2) antidepressants (46%); and 3) atypical antipsychotics (25%). Fluoxetine was the most frequently AE-associated antidepressant (40%), and risperidone was the only AE-associated antipsychotic (21%). Increased impulsivity was the most frequently reported AE for both antidepressants (44%) and risperidone (29%). Once AE were identified, antidepressants and risperidone were frequently stopped (89%; 57%).
Conclusions: This study is among the first to address AE of frequently prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics in a preschool age children with severe psychopathology. The results support previous findings on AE in this vulnerable population and have important implications for psychotropic medication management. We plan to pilot a structured AE monitoring form to compare structured and spontaneous AE reporting, and predict that the form will capture AE more frequently.
- Name
- Name Part
- Lee, Erica
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- Davis, Thamara
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- Mernick, Lauren
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- DeMarco, Mia
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- Martin, Sarah
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- Boekamp, John
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name
- Name Part
- Hunt, Jeffrey
- Role
- Role Term (marcrelator)
(authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
- Author
- Name:
Corporate
- Name Part
- Brown University. Alpert Medical School. Scholarly Concentration Program. Non-Scholarly Concentrator
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- research program
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01081840")
- Topic
- Psychotropic drugs--Side effects
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01081659")
- Topic
- Psychopharmacology
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01081826")
- Topic
- Psychotropic drugs
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00623770")
- Topic
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00854531")
- Topic
- Child psychiatry
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01054026")
- Topic
- Partial hospitalization
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00898912")
- Topic
- Drugs--Side effects
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01075582")
- Topic
- Preschool children
- Language
- Language Term:
Text (ISO639-2B)
- English
- Origin Information
- Date Created
(keyDate="yes", encoding="w3cdtf")
- 2018
- Note
(displayLabel="Scholarly concentration")
- Non-Scholarly Concentrator
- Access Condition:
use and reproduction
(href="")
- All rights reserved
- Access Condition:
logo
(href="")
- Type of Resource
- text