title: The diagnostic outcomes of children with suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder following multidisciplinary assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To undertake a retrospective analysis of the patients referred with suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to a multidisciplinary clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne between 2004 and 2007. This study aimed to determine the proportion of children diagnosed with ADHD, the frequency of comorbid diagnoses, and the level of functional impairment of referred children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data regarding the demographic characteristics, clinical features, assessment findings and suggested management of patients who attended the ADHD Assessment Clinic were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-four children (58 males, 6 females) aged between age 4 and 8 years 11 months (M = 6.84, SD = 1.24) were referred. 43 children (67%) were diagnosed with ADHD and 32 (74%) of these were diagnosed with at least one comorbid condition, most commonly, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD; 51%) and speech/language disorder (23%). Of the 21 children who were not diagnosed with ADHD, approximately one-third were diagnosed with ODD and one-third were diagnosed with a specific learning disorder. Overall, the children referred to the clinic had poor quality of life by caregiver report; however, this did not differ between children who were diagnosed with ADHD and children who were not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comprehensive evaluation of children with suspected ADHD resulted in an alternative primary diagnosis in one-third of cases. Three-quarters of children diagnosed with ADHD had one or more comorbid diagnoses. A multidisciplinary model of assessment can be effective in identifying a range of problems in this patient group, and help to inform targeted interventions.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. daryl.efron@rch.org.au
authors.forename: Daryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Efron
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sciberras
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D014739:Victoria; D055815:Young Adult