Atypical antipsychotic prescribing patterns amongst Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services clinicians in a defined National Health Service Trust

Abstract

BackgroundIn the last decade, the prescription of atypical antipsychotics in minors, by all specialists, has increased. The use has been both licensed and ‘off-label’, with the aim of targeting different symptoms and clinical conditions. However, most research around safety and efficacy of these pharmacological agents has been conducted in adults and with repeated calls for such research in minors in vain.ObjectivesThis survey aims to describe current prescribing practices in a ‘real-world’ scenario and to compare the results with existing research to evaluate lessons learnt.MethodsThe survey consisted of a semi-structured questionnaire that aimed to evaluate the current practices of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) prescribers. A total of 31 questionnaires sent out yielded 24 completed returns (77.41%). A literature search yielded articles that described prescribing trends over the last decade. The results from the survey were compared with the existing literature.ResultsThe commonest ...