title: Receipt of guideline-concordant pharmacotherapy among children with new diagnoses of bipolar disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the extent to which children with bipolar I disorder received recommended treatment of mood-stabilizer or second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy and factors associated with its receipt.
  
  
  METHODS
  Administrative claims data collected from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2007, were used to construct a cohort of 412 privately insured children with bipolar I disorder. The primary outcome measure was the receipt of mood-stabilizer or second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy within 90 days of an index diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 82 (20%) children received recommended first-line treatment for bipolar I disorder within 90 days of the index diagnosis, and 130 (32%) received no psychotropic medications. Of children receiving any medications, 200 (71%) received nonrecommended pharmacotherapy, most commonly antidepressant monotherapy (N=67, 24%) and combination pharmacotherapy (N=51, 18%). Youths who had been treated by a psychiatrist on the day of or 180 days before the fill date of medication were more likely to receive guideline-recommended care (risk ratio [RR]=1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.10-2.45) and to receive any psychotropic medications (RR=1.13, CI=1.02-1.24). Nevertheless, only 51 of the 209 (24%) children who visited a psychiatrist and 31 of the 203 (15%) who visited a nonpsychiatrist received recommended pharmacotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights significant gaps in the treatment of pediatric bipolar disorder. Most children in this sample received either no medications or nonrecommended pharmacotherapies. Additional research is needed to further assess factors related to the nonuse of recommended psychotropic medications and to the persistent use of nonrecommended pharmacotherapies for children with bipolar disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. dusetzina@hcp.med.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Stacie B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dusetzina
authors.forename: Bradley N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Gaynes
authors.forename: Morris
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weinberger
authors.forename: Joel F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Farley
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sleath
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents