title: Practitioner versus medication-expert opinion on psychiatric pharmacotherapy of mentally retarded patients with mental disorders.
abstract: The agreement of practicing psychiatrists with medication experts regarding how psychotropic drugs should be used to treat behavioral and psychiatric problems in patients with mental retardation was studied. The medication survey used in developing guidelines on the treatment of behavioral and psychiatric problems in mental retardation was sent to 85 psychiatrists who had been identified as caring for the mentally retarded in the Texas public mental health system. The comparison of these practitioners with the medication experts included first-line and second-line treatment choices. Survey analysis was based on using 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to determine the type of rating. If the 95% CIs for the practitioners' responses overlapped the 95% CIs for experts, the two groups were judged to be in agreement. Thirty-seven practitioners (43.5%) completed and returned the survey. Few differences between the practitioners and the medication experts were found with respect to treatments for specific mental illness diagnoses. However, the practitioners rated venlafaxine and mirtazapine higher than the medication experts. Lithium augmentation of therapy with selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors for nonpsychotic depression was rated first-line by the practitioners and second-line by the medication experts. Practicing psychiatrists and medication experts generally agreed about the use of psychotropic drugs for mental illness in patients with mental retardation.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Crismon
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frances
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D003657:Decision Making; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications; D007380:Intermediate Care Facilities; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000592:standards*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs