You are viewing the site in preview mode

Skip to main content

Table 4 Comparison of psychotropic medication treatment patterns between children with and without a rare genetic NDD variant

From: Psychopharmacology in children with genetic disorders of epigenetic and chromatin regulation

 

Any genetic variant

No genetic variant reported

p

n total (%)

32 (10%)

299 (90%)

 

n attended 1 or more follow-up visits (% of group)

27 (84%)

243 (81%)

 

n attended 3 or more follow-up visits (% of group)

25 (78%)

228 (76%)

 

Polypharmacy

 Max number of agents used concurrently, Mean (SD)

2.9 (1.3)

2.9 (1.1)

0.7

 Max number of agents used concurrently, Median (IQR)

2 (2)

3 (2)

 

Medication classes ever tried per individuala

 Antipsychotic trial

21 (65%)

208 (69%)

0.8

 Stimulant/atomoxetine trial

21 (65%)

217 (72%)

0.7

 Antidepressant trial

11 (34%)

158 (52%)

0.07*

 Alpha agonist trial

25 (78%)

183 (61%)

0.09*

 Anticonvulsant trial

5 (16%)

27 (9%)

0.2

 Sedative-hypnotic or sleep aid trial

19 (59%)

196 (66%)

0.6

Medication trials discontinued during follow-upb

 Any medication trial discontinued

27/107 (25%)

224/852 (26%)

0.9

 Discontinued antipsychotic trials

4/22 (18%)

59/203 (29%)

 

 Risperidone

3/10 (30%)

25/87 (29%)

 

 Aripiprazole

1/7 (14%)

17/66 (26%)

 

 Discontinued stimulant/atomoxetine trial

7/22 (32%)

47/158 (30%)

 

 Amphetamine class

2/2 (33%)

17/57 (30%)

 

 Methylphenidate class

3/11 (27%)

19/75 (23%)

 

 Atomoxetine

2/5 (40%)

11/26 (40%)

 

 Discontinued alpha agonist trial

5/21 (23%)

23/150 (15%)

 

 Clonidine

3/14 (21%)

14/77 (18%)

 

 Guanfacine XR

2/7 (29%)

9/73 (12%)

*

 Discontinued antidepressant trial

4/13 (23%)

34/140 (24%)

 

 Sertraline

2/8 (25%)

12/49 (24%)

 

 Discontinued sedative-hypnotic or sleep aid

5/19 (26%)

48/164 (29%)

 

 Melatonin

4/10 (40%)

22/111 (20%)

*

 Side effects per individual during follow-upc

 Any side effect report

17/27 (63%)

130/243 (53%)

0.5

 Headache

0/27 (0%)

6/243 (2%)

0.9

 Abdominal Pain

1/27 (3%)

19/243 (8%)

0.7

 Constipation

2/27 (7%)

3/243 (1%)

0.07

 Nausea/vomiting

2/27 (7%)

6/243 (2%)

0.2

 Weight gain

6 (22%)

66/243 (27%)

0.7

 Weight Loss

2 (7%)

18/243 (7%)

0.9

 Irritability

2 (7%)

17/243 (7%)

0.9

 Drowsiness/sedation

11 (41%)

48/243 (20%)

0.02

 Appetite decrease

2 (7%)

23/243 (9%)

0.8

 Appetite increase

7 (26%)

61/243 (25%)

0.9

  1. P-values from Fisher’s exact test or Chi-squared for counts/proportions, means/medians are compared with t-test (for normally distributed data) or Mann–Whitney U test (for non-parametric distributions). Results are reported uncorrected. *Indicates group differences > 15%
  2. a) Ever tried was defined as a patient who reported a past medication trial with an agent in the defined class as clinic intake, OR who trialed a medication in that class during clinic follow-up. Results are reported per patient, therefore a patient who tried three antipsychotic medications would contribute only one count to this outcome
  3. b) Medication discontinuation rates were examined among patients who attended three or more follow-up visits in clinic. We defined medication discontinuation as a patient who took a medication at any point during follow-up care, who then discontinued that medication on two subsequent consecutive visits. Medication class discontinuation rates are reported per unique medication trial; therefore a single individual may have contributed multiple distinct medication trials to this outcome
  4. c) Side effects were collected for patients who attended more than 1 follow-up visits, therefore restricting them to those reported during active medication trials (as opposed to retrospective reporting on past medication trials at clinic intake). Side effects are reported per patient. Therefore, a patient who reported headache as a side effect across multiple visits or medication trials would contribute only once to this outcome
  5. * > 15% difference between groups
Back to article page

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

ISSN: 1866-1955

Contact us