Randomized controlled pilot study of quetiapine in the treatment of adolescent conduct disorder

The aim of this study was to examine whether quetiapine is superior to placebo in the treatment of adolescents with conduct disorder.

This was a 7-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study with two parallel arms. Nine youths were randomly assigned to receive quetiapine, and 10 youths were randomly assigned to receive placebo. Patients were assessed weekly throughout the trial. Quetiapine was dosed twice daily, and medications could be titrated flexibly through the end of study week 5. The dose was fixed for the final 2 weeks of the study. The primary outcome measures were the clinician-assessed Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) and-Improvement (CGI-I) scales. Secondary outcome measures included parent-assessed quality of life, the overt aggression scale (OAS), and the conduct problems subscale of the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-CP).

The final mean dose of quetiapine was 294 +/- 78 mg/day (range 200-600 mg/day). Quetiapine was superior to placebo on all clinician-assessed measures and on the parent-assessed quality of life rating scale. No differences were found on the parent-completed OAS and CPRS-CP. Quetiapine was well tolerated. One patient randomized to quetiapine developed akathisia, requiring medication discontinuation. No other extrapyramidal side effects occurred in patients receiving active drug.

This methodologically controlled pilot study provides data that quetiapine may have efficacy in the treatment of adolescents with conduct disorder. Because of the preliminary nature of the study, further research with larger samples is needed to confirm these findings.