title: Determinants of compliance with methylphenidate therapy in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To get more insight into factors that influence compliance with the use of methylphenidate.
  
  
  METHODS
  22 pharmacies detected children who used methylphenidate. Their parents were sent a questionnaire on the use of methylphenidate. In a case-control study, the influence of patient- and drug-related factors on compliance, as reported by parents, was determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents returned 117 (75%) of 157 questionnaires sent out. Of these, 47.8% of the children missed a dose two times a month or more. Forgetting to take the medication (87.9%) was the most important reason. The case-control study showed that children of 16-18 y were more likely to miss doses. Other patient- and drug-related factors did not influence the missing of doses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A number of known determinants for compliance do not influence the missing of doses of methylphenidate. With about 80% of the parents reporting that their child missed doses of methylphenidate less than 5 times per month, compliance was quite good for the majority of the children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. jg.hugtenburg@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Jacqueline G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hugtenburg
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Witte
authors.forename: Eibert R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Heerdink
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate