Neuroleptic prescribing in an adolescent psychiatric in-patient unit

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' consensus statement suggests that prescribing high dose antipsychotic medication in children and adolescents should rarely be necessary. Our objective was to study the prescribing of antipsychotic medication in a regional adolescent unit during a three-year period. We found that antipsychotic prescribing on this unit is common in psychotic disorders and often high doses are required. This is not in keeping with the recommendations of the consensus statement. Review of clinical practice on other adolescent units is needed, together with a more comprehensive evaluation of the outcome of psychotic disorders in this age group.