Pharmacological interventions for children with Disruptive Behaviour Disorders or Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Question 8: What is the effectiveness, safety and role of pharmacological interventions, by non-specialized health care providers, for the broad category of Disruptive Behaviour Disorders (DBDs), Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and comorbid (but not exclusively) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
- Population: children with Disruptive Behaviour Disorders (DBDs), Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and comorbid (but not exclusively) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Interventions:
- carbamazepine
- lithium
- methylphenidate
- risperidone
- Comparison: placebo
- Outcomes:
- aggression
- family/school functioning
- human rights
- safety/tolerability issues
- symptom reduction/clinical improvement
- treatment satisfaction
- user satisfaction.
Recommendation(s)
Pharmacological interventions (such as methylphenidate, lithium, carbamazepine and risperidone) should not be offered by non-specialized health care providers to treat Disruptive Behaviour Disorders (DBD), Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and comorbid Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For these conditions, the patients should be referred to specialist before prescribing any medicines.
Strength of recommendation: STRONG