Children with ADHD are being treated with unapproved medications

Antipsychotic medications are used to treat children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) even though these drugs are not approved for the treatment of ADHD.

Researchers found that treatment with antipsychotic medications was particularly high among children in foster care and those without private health insurance, according to a new study from the University of Maryland.  

Researchers examined the use of atypical antipsychotics including risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole, ziprasidone, and clozapine.  None of these medications are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ADHD, yet they were given to children with ADHD.  In addition, children were being treated with these drugs for longer than that in many clinical studies.

"This study adds critical hard data to our understanding of a persistent and unacceptable trend in paediatric psychiatry," Dr Harold Koplewicz, president of the Child Mind Institute in New York City.

"Our poorest, most vulnerable children, lacking access to evidence-based care, are receiving potentially harmful treatment with little oversight. The highlight of [the] paper for any reader should be the simple but necessary recommendations for antipsychotic prescribing and monitoring in these populations," he added.

The study, Atypical Antipsychotic Use Among Medicaid-Insured Children and Adolescents: Duration, Safety, and Monitoring Implications, appears in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

©Mary M Conneely T/A Advocacy in Action