Medication prescribing practices in a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic

Background  The aim of this study was to evaluate the medication prescribing practices for children who had attended a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic in Turkey. Methods  A retrospective chart review of consecutive new patients admitted to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic of university hospital within 6 months was performed. Results  Male/female ratio of 822 charts examined was 1.75. Over activity and/or distractibility were the most common presenting complaints and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was the most common disorder. Approximately one-fourth (24.0%) of children were prescribed psychotropic medications. Initiation time of psychotropic medication was one of the first two visits in 65% of the children who were prescribed medication. The most commonly prescribed medications were in descending order of prescribing frequency: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics and psychostimulants. About 54.2% of depressed children were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and 24.3% of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder were prescribed psychostimulant treatment. Among children who used at least one psychotropic medication, the rate of co-prescription was 10.7%. Conclusion  It was found that the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and methylphenidate in children has become widespread. The results of our study may be helpful in improving treatment services in child and adolescent psychiatry.