The pharmacologic treatment of conduct disorders and rage outbursts

Although this article focuses on psychopharmacology, pharmacotherapy is only part of a comprehensive treatment program. Treatment should be individualized to the patient's condition and level of intellectual functioning (e.g., conduct disorder, mental retardation). Clinicians should be acquainted with the Food and Drug Administration's regulations and the Physician's Desk Reference's guidelines. Psychoactive agents should be prescribed judiciously under careful clinical and laboratory monitoring, especially when given on a long-term basis. Knowledge of potential short- and long-term side effects is imperative to minimize impairment (cognitive, sedation) and to maximize achievement of adaptive behaviors. Aggressiveness is a low-frequency behavior and therefore difficult to assess. Aggressiveness with an explosive affective component and rage seems to be more responsive to pharmacotherapy than aggressiveness alone. Children who present with covert conduct disorder symptoms, such as stealing and lying, might not be as responsive to psychoactive agents as the conduct disorder with explosive characteristics. The neuroleptics are considered the standard drugs for the treatment of aggression but sedation and concern over tardive dyskinesia have led investigators to explore and study other classes of drugs. Lithium carbonate has been studied in short-term clinical trials and has been shown to be an effective alternative to the neuroleptics. Carbamazepine and propranolol seem to be promising agents but require further critical assessment in children and adolescents. Stimulants should be considered the first choice of treatment in coexisting conduct disorder and ADHD or in milder forms of aggression. In conclusion, there is a need for systematic investigation of the effectiveness and safety of psychoactive agents in children and adolescents with aggressiveness, explosiveness, and rage outbursts. There is some supportive evidence that some patients with these target symptoms are good responders to certain drugs. Future research should compare pharmacotherapy to psychosocial treatment and the combination of both.