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Psychoactive drug prescribing by Dutch child and adolescent psychiatrists
Jacqueline G Hugtenburg1, Eibert R Heerdink, Yung Hwo Tso
1Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacoepidemiology & Pharmacotherapy, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.g.hugtenburg@pharm.uu.nl
Aim:
To gain more insight into the prescribing of psychoactive drugs by Dutch child psychiatrists.
Methods:
A questionnaire was sent to all child psychiatrists in the Netherlands. Questions were asked about the prescribing of antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and psychostimulants for psychiatric disorders in children.
Results:
The preference of specific antidepressants, antipsychotics and anxiolytics depends on the disorder. For different disorders, off-label prescribing varies from 19 to 71%.
Conclusion:
Preferences differ widely. Off-label drug prescribing is high. More studies on the efficacy and safety of psychoactive drugs in children are therefore required.
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