Psychotropic Drugs Prescription and Use among Children with Mental Disorders at a Tertiary Hospital in Vietnam

Background: Awareness of psychotropic medication and its adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can promote safe and rational use of medications, particularly in children and adolescents with mental problems. This study examined the prescription of psychotropic drugs and actual drug-drug interaction (DDI) and ADR for children with mental disorders under 18 years of age in a tertiary hospital in Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 257 psychiatric inpatients under 18 years of age at the National Mental Health Institute-Bach Mai Hospital in 2017. Information about the course of treatment included prescribed medications, drug interactions, side effects, drug combination, and modifications to the regimen was collected. Results: 14.8% and 59.5% of patients received a single-drug regimen and a 2-drug combination regimen upon admission, respectively. The most used regimen was antipsychotics + tranquilizers, accounting for 38.1%. Haloperidol was the most commonly prescribed drug (40.5%). Most patients were given the recommended dosage of the drug (>90%). There were 20.6% of patients having drug interactions with the largest proportion of the combination of diazepam and olanzapine (62.3%). ADRs of psychotropic drugs were detected in 46.3% of patients, with the highest rate of ADRs from antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotics had the highest rate of replacement (91.3%), mostly replaced from a first-generation antipsychotic (FGA) to a second-generation antipsychotic (SGA). Conclusion: The appointment of psychotropic drugs to patients under 18 years of age has to comply with the recommendations, and carefully balance the benefits and risks of ADRs as well as the risk of DDI in case of the drug combination.