Psychoactive drug prescribing by Dutch child and adolescent psychiatrists.
OBJECTIVE
To gain more insight into the prescribing of psychoactive drugs by Dutch child psychiatrists.


METHODS
A questionnaire was sent to all child psychiatrists in the Netherlands. Questions were asked about the prescribing of antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and psychostimulants for psychiatric disorders in children.


RESULTS
The preference of specific antidepressants, antipsychotics and anxiolytics depends on the disorder. For different disorders, off-label prescribing varies from 19 to 71%.


CONCLUSIONS
Preferences differ widely. Off-label drug prescribing is high. More studies on the efficacy and safety of psychoactive drugs in children are therefore required.
Hugtenburg
Jacqueline G
JG
Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacoepidemiology & Pharmacotherapy, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.g.hugtenburg@pharm.uu.nl
Heerdink
Eibert R
ER
Tso
Yung Hwo
YH
D000293:Adolescent; D000296:Adolescent Psychiatry / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009426:Netherlands; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs