Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology最新文献

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for severe and treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders, particularly depression and catatonia. ECT requires intravenous (IV) access, which can pose a barrier for pediatric patients and those with neurodevelopmental disorders who may have difficulty tolerating IV placement. This case series highlights individualized pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies that facilitate IV placement in pediatric and neurodivergent patients receiving ECT. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of five patients aged 14-27 who required ECT but experienced barriers to tolerating IV placement and described strategies used to overcome these limitations. Results: We describe five strategies: (1) oral anxiolytic premedication, (2) planned physical restraint, (3) intramuscular (IM) ketamine induction, (4) inhalational sevoflurane anesthesia, and (5) placement of an implanted venous access device. Using these strategies, all patients were able to tolerate IV placement and ECT treatment. Consistent treatment protocols, multidisciplinary planning, and engagement of outpatient care teams facilitated the success of these interventions. Conclusions: Pediatric and neurodivergent patients face unique barriers to ECT, particularly related to IV placement. Our case series demonstrates that individualized, multidisciplinary approaches can enable successful ECT treatment. These findings underscore the importance of adaptive strategies to promote health equity and ensure access to effective psychiatric interventions in special needs populations.

Purpose: The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-3rd Edition (Vineland-3) is one of the most used measures of adaptive behavior among those with sodium channel protein type 2 subunit alpha related disorders (SCN2A-RDs). Several disease-modifying treatments are in early trials for SCN2A-RDs, and as such, clinical outcome assessments (COAs) are necessary. The Vineland-3 introduced growth scale values (GSVs), which are useful for measuring within-person change and thus may be useful in future clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Vineland-3 GSVs in SCN2A-RDs in preparation for future clinical trials. Methods: A sample of 65 individuals with SCN2A-RDs (mean = 108, SD = 76.0 months) was recruited for a clinical trial readiness study. The Vineland-3 Comprehensive Interview was administered by trained raters at regular intervals. Multiple psychometric properties were evaluated, including floor and ceiling effects, split-half internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability (on approximately 20% of all completions). Results: Floor effects were relatively infrequent on the GSV metric but occurred on all subdomains using the norm-referenced v-scale metric. Split-half and test-retest reliability were excellent for all subdomains (r_xx >0.95 and inter-class correlation coefficient [ICC] >0.90, respectively), except for coping, which still maintained adequate reliability (r_xx = 0.87, ICC = 0.65). Inter-rater reliability was also very strong, though it was more variable (α_kripp range 0.78-1.00). Conclusion: The Vineland-3 holds great potential as a COA in SCN2A-RDs; it exhibited very strong psychometric properties in this sample. This is a prerequisite level of evidence needed to demonstrate that a measure is fit-for-purpose for future clinical trials. While some reliability was high, some domains (e.g., domestic) still exhibited problems related to floor effects, which may suggest that they are less relevant to this population. Future studies should expand on this with mixed-methods research for prioritizing concepts of interest on the Vineland-3.

Purpose: Catatonia is a highly morbid psychomotor disorder that impacts autistic adults and children. There is very little literature that describes outpatient catatonia management practices, none of which discusses the use of the electronic health record (EHR). Thus, we conducted this study to analyze patient messages in a specialized catatonia clinic. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of messaging practices in the EHR for patients in a specialized clinic with autism and catatonia from July 1, 2021, to May 31, 2024. Catatonic symptom severity was recorded via the Bush Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS), Kanner Catatonia Severity Scale (KCS), and Kanner Catatonia Examination (KCE). We conducted Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients to determine whether a relationship exists between the frequency of patient messages, catatonic symptoms, and length of follow-up. Results: A total of 12,972 messages were sent to the health system or received by the patient or their family. Of those, 6375 (49.1%) messages were sent from the family to the health system. Relationships between message frequency to the health system and all baseline catatonia severity scores (BFCRS, KCS, KCE) were not statistically significant, although message frequency was strongly associated with length of follow-up (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). A total of 5555 (42.8%) messages were sent directly to or received from providers in the catatonia specialty clinic. The rate of messages to providers in the catatonia clinic was 2.9 messages/day. Conclusion: The frequency of patient messaging was high in this catatonia specialty clinic. Health systems should consider this possibility when planning for similar service lines.

Objectives: To describe the Sertraline Pediatric Registry for the Evaluation of Safety (SPRITES) safety results, including adverse events (AEs) (serious and nonserious, including suicide-related events) following long-term treatment with sertraline in children and adolescents aged 6-16 years. Methods: SPRITES was a multicenter, prospective, observational study designed to compare cognitive, emotional, and physical development in pediatric patients exposed to sertraline or psychotherapy alone in routine care for up to 3 years. Safety outcomes included AEs collected on the Pediatric Adverse Event Rating Scale and suicidal ideation/behavior (SIB), as assessed by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). AEs (unadjusted and adjusted for exposure) and C-SSRS data were summarized descriptively, and a marginal structural model (MSM) was applied to the C-SSRS results. Results: Between April 2012 and September 2020, 941 patients participated in SPRITES. At baseline, per treating physician discretion, 695 patients were administered sertraline, 243 patients were administered psychotherapy alone, and 3 patients were administered an antidepressant other than sertraline. At postbaseline timepoints, patients receiving sertraline reported higher overall rates of AEs relative to the other antidepressants and nonpharmacologic treatment groups. The most common AEs in the sertraline group were related to psychiatric and gastrointestinal disorders. In all exposure groups, the incidence of AEs and SIB decreased across study timepoints. MSM analyses did not demonstrate an effect of sertraline treatment on new onset or worsening SIB. Conclusion: The safety profile of sertraline in a long-term, real-world setting is similar to that of prior pediatric sertraline studies. A greater proportion of AEs and SIB events reported in the sertraline group compared with the nonpharmacologic therapy group is not unexpected given the safety profile of sertraline and observation of baseline differences in psychiatric disease severity between exposure groups. With prolonged sertraline treatment, incidence rates of AEs and SIB events decreased, and worsening of SIB was not observed.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to review the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of clozapine in youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disability. Methods: An IRB-approved retrospective chart review of youth and young adults with autism and/or intellectual disability who were prescribed clozapine between January 2012 and June 2020 was completed. Information was collected from 1 year before through 1 year after clozapine initiation related to medications prescribed, hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity and Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement (CGI-I) ratings. Adverse effects and reasons for stopping clozapine were documented. Results: Fifty-eight patients were included in analysis. Forty patients remained on clozapine through June 2020 and 18 did not. Most patients were prescribed clozapine for treatment of irritability. Reasons for stopping clozapine included side effects, continued behavior concerns, difficulty with blood draws, and improvement in symptoms. For those who remained on clozapine for the duration of the review period, the number of hospitalizations and ED presentations for psychiatric concerns or medical concerns potentially related to clozapine significantly decreased in the year following clozapine initiation compared with the year prior (2.13 vs. 3.48, p = 0.010). There was a significant reduction in CGI-I scores from 3.96 to 2.53 (p < 0.001) from clozapine initiation to 1 year later. There was a nonsignificant trend toward reduction in use of multiple antipsychotics simultaneously from time of clozapine initiation to 1 year later in those who remained on clozapine (38.5% vs. 25%, p = 0.232). Conclusions: Use of clozapine for treatment-refractory irritability in youth and young adults with ASD and/or intellectual disability is generally well-tolerated. Observed benefits included a decrease in number of hospitalizations and ED visits and a decrease in CGI-I score in the year after clozapine initiation.

Objective: Self-report questionnaires are common for measuring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The experience of life threat-Criterion A-serves a gatekeeper function for diagnosing PTSD, and evidence suggests false positives are common on questionnaires. It remains unknown how common they are and whether extra instructions can reduce them. Methods: The present study assessed 42 youths, 10-17 years of age, from a clinic setting. Youths and parents completed regular PTSD questionnaires and then enhanced versions with more detailed instructions and examples of Criterion A and non-Criterion A events. Parents completed a semistructured interview as the verification of true versus false positives. Results: In the full sample, parents endorsed 41 and children endorsed 45 false positive events. The mean was significantly greater than zero for both parents and children. Parents endorsed 59 and children endorsed 138 false positive symptoms. When false positive events were endorsed, this was significantly associated with more false positive symptoms for both parents and children. An enhanced questionnaire failed to reduce false positive events for the full sample. Discussion: The common occurrence of false positives suggests caution is warranted when interpreting estimates from questionnaire-based research about the prevalence of PTSD. While this attempt to eliminate false positives was not fully successful, there may be other useful enhancements to consider in future research.

Background: SPTAN1 variants are thought to affect the scaffolding that protects the axonal segment of neurons as well as neuronal synapses. The SPTAN1 gene is located in the 9q34.11 genomic region and encodes the cytoskeletal protein alpha II spectrin. Epilepsy, encephalopathy, and motor neuropathy are most commonly associated with SPTAN1 variants. Methods: An informed consent and questionnaire were developed in order to gather information from caregivers regarding their family members' SPTAN1 variant. Survey results are summarized descriptively, in order of frequency. Results: The results of a questionnaire filled out by the caregivers of loved ones who have a SPTAN1 mutation are summarized for 25 individuals, 14 males and 11 females, who have the SPTAN1 mutation. Conclusions: The results of this survey mirror those reported by other authors and include epilepsy, intellectual and motor delays, encephalopathy, and motor neuropathy. Additional effects of the SPTAN1 mutation reported here include absent or difficult speech, happy personality, decline in cognitive and motor skills with age, vision and hearing abnormalities, organ and skeletal effects, autoimmune diseases, and weakened immune systems.