Please read Dr. Crystal’s article in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry titled, “Development of a Symptom-Focused Model to Guide the Prescribing of Antipsychotics in Children and Adolescents: Results of the First Phase of the Safer Use of Antipsychotics in Youth (SUAY) Clinical Trial.“
Beginning in the mid-1990s, rates of prescribing antipsychotic medications to children and adolescents have grown tremendously and remain high in some Medicaid and commercially insured populations. Significant decreases have been reported in populations with targeted programs to reduce use. The vast majority of antipsychotic use in youths aged 4 to 17 years is not for psychotic disorders, mania, irritability associated with autism, or tic disorders, which are the regulatory indications for antipsychotic use; rather, antipsychotics are prescribed the most for youths diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and/or impulsive aggression. In 1 study, 66.9% of boys aged 6 to 11 years who were prescribed an antipsychotic had a diagnosis of ADHD and 43.1% had a diagnosis of CD or ODD. Given these data, there is widespread concern that antipsychotics are over-prescribed. To read the full article.
Development of a Symptom-Focused Model to Guide the Prescribing of Antipsychotics in Children and Adolescents: Results of the First Phase of the Safer Use of Antipsychotics in Youth (SUAY) Clinical Trial. Penfold RB, Thompson EE, Hilt RJ, Schwartz N, Robb AS, Correll CU, Newton D, Rogalski K, Earls MF, Kowatch RA, Beck A, Yarborough BJH, Crystal S, Vitiello B, Kelleher KJ, Simon GE. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Jan; 61(1):93-102. PMID: 34256967 PMCID: PMC8566327 DOI: 1016/j.jaac.2021.04.010 Epub 2021 May 4