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Stimulant rebound: how common is it and what does it mean?
Gabrielle A Carlson1, Kevin L Kelly
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8790, USA.
Objective:
To examine rates and implications of stimulant-induced rebound - the behavioral deterioration that may occur as stimulant medications wear off.
Methods:
This study compares nurse observations on evening shifts compared to day shifts in 149 psychiatrically hospitalized children treated with short-acting stimulants, usually methylphenidate, comparing nonmedication and stimulant-treated states.
Results:
Behavioral deterioration (rebound), was observed in 30% of children on at least one dose of stimulants but was serious enough to discontinue treatment in only 8.7%. Children experiencing rebound did not differ clinically from those who did not.
Conclusions:
Rebound exists, occurs significantly in less than 10% of psychiatrically hospitalized children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and does not appear to have specific diagnostic significance.
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