title: Trends in the prescribing of psychotropic medications for inpatient children and adolescents, 2000-2010: a study from China.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the patterns in prescribing of psychotropic drugs for children and adolescents within the psychiatric department of a general hospital in China. Medical records of 878 patients (0-18 years old) were reviewed in 2000, 2005 and 2010. Patient characteristics, total psychotropic drug use and the proportionate use of each drug class (antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers and anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs) were analysed. The results indicated that there was a 19.2% increase in the overall use of psychotropic drugs during the study period. The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased from 24.8 to 45%, whereas that of tricyclic antidepressants decreased from 17.7 to 0.5%. The use of second-generation antipsychotics increased from 56 to 80%. In contrast, the use of first-generation antipsychotic decreased from 26.2 to 6.5%. The use of valproate also increased significantly from 2.1 to 16.4%. In patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased from 1.2 to 18.9% and that of valproate increased from 0 to 12.6%. The increasing trends in psychotropic drug use necessitate addition research to confirm their safety and efficacy in this specific population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qing-Yun
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Lan-Ting
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors