Attention to body mass index by child psychiatry providers when prescribing second-generation antipsychotic medication to children: a survey study using a clinical vignette.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine whether weight and body mass index measurement were taken into consideration when prescribing second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) medication to a child.


METHODS
Two hundred clinicians were surveyed using a hypothetical clinical case vignette at a child psychopharmacology, postgraduate medical education course. The vignette described an overweight 10-year-old boy who was about to be prescribed an SGA medication to control psychotic symptoms. The reference to the patient's being 'overweight' was purposefully included to determine if providers would assess the patient's risk of morbidity from the metabolic side effects of the SGAs at the time of prescribing.


RESULTS
Only 7.0% of prescribers listed either 'body mass index' or a combination of 'height' and 'weight' as part of their next treatment steps for an overweight child before prescribing an SGA.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest the need for education as to the importance of body mass index monitoring when prescribing second-generation antipsychotic medications to children.
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jfromson@partners.org
John A
JA
Fromson
Kelly M
KM
Sutton-Skinner
Tristan
T
Gorrindo
Lee
L
Baer
Sarah A
SA
Romeo
Meghan L
ML
Rieu-Werden
Robert J
RJ
Birnbaum
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D050177:Overweight / Q000139:chemically induced
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents