How did the 2003 FDA advisory warning on suicidality among children using SSRI antidepressants affect the recognition and treatment of depression in children? A new analysis appearing in Psychiatric Services (July 2011) indicates that the so-called “black box” warning may have diminished the likelihood of making an outpatient visit for depression but not the prescription of an antidepressant in the case of a diagnosis of depression. “National Trends in Prescribing an Antidepressant Before and After an FDA Advisory on Suicidality Risk in Youths” is posted at http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/62/7/727. For further coverage of the findings, see the next issue of Psychiatric News, and for information on the “black box” warning, see http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/42/19/1.1.full.
