Pharmacological treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a far from rare neuropsychiatric disorder in children and adolescents which affects approximately 1-1.5% of the pediatric population. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. It often takes a chronic course with either persistent, constantly distressing obsessive-compulsive symptoms or a waxing and waning course. The best documented and most efficient treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy and antidepressant medication with serotonin specific agents. In most cases, an improvement rate of 20-50% is reported following medication alone.
Thomsen
Per Hove
PH
Psychiatric Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University Hospital in Aarhus, Harald Selmers vej 66, 8240 Risskov, Denmark. pht@buh.aaa.dk