| Title | Prescribing patterns for treatment of pediatric bipolar disorder in a specialty clinic. | | Author(s) | Potter MP, Liu HY, Monuteaux MC, Henderson CS, Wozniak J, Wilens TE, Biederman J | | Institution | Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, Massachusetts, USA. | | Source | J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2009 Oct; 19(5):529-38. | | Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe prescribing practices in the treatment of pediatric bipolar disorder in a university practice setting.
METHOD: A retrospective chart review was performed on 53 youths diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4(th) edition (DSM-IV), criteria with bipolar spectrum disorder under the active care of child psychiatrists practicing in a pediatric psychopharmacology specialty clinic. Current medications, doses, and related adverse events were recorded. Clinicians were asked to provide a target disorder (bipolar mania/mixed state, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], or anxiety) for each medication to the best of their ability. The Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale was used to measure severity of each disorder before treatment and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement (CGI-I) was used to quantify the magnitude of improvement with treatment. Meaningful improvement of the disorder was defined by CGI-I score of 1 or 2.
RESULTS: The mean number of psychotropic medications per patient was 3.0 +/- 1.6. A total of 68% of patients were treated for co-morbid disorders; 23% of patients were treated with monotherapy, primarily with second-generation antipsychotics. Mania improved in 80% of cases, mixed state improved in 57% of cases, ADHD improved in 56% of cases, anxiety improved in 61% of cases, and depression improved in 90% of cases.
CONCLUSION: The management of pediatric bipolar disorder often requires multiple medications. For the treatment of mania/mixed states, clinicians prescribed second-generation antipsychotics more frequently than mood stabilizers, especially in the context of monotherapy. Co-morbidity was a frequent problem with moderate success obtained with combined pharmacotherapy approaches. Further psychosocial strategies to augment pharmacotherapy may improve outcome while reducing the medication burden in pediatric bipolar disorder. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
| | PubMed ID | 19877977 |
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