More Monitoring Urged Regarding Antipsychotic Use in Children

Millions of prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs have been written for children and adolescents in the last two years, and an FDA advisory group has now urged regulators to continue studying safety monitoring for side effects of the drugs. The panel was concerned about weight gain and whether children taking the medications were at increased risk for diabetes. There is currently insufficient evidence to decide if that is the case, said panel member, Jonathan Mink, M.D., a child neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

These drugs are prescribed for bipolar disorder in teens and preschoolers, and for affective psychoses in children aged 7 to 12. Little clinical research with children on the effectiveness and safety of the drugs in these groups has been carried out, however. The panel asked for label revisions regarding pediatric use and adverse events when these drugs are approved for new pediatric indications.

To read more on the use of antipsychotics in children and adolescents, see Psychiatric News at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/12/18.2.

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