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Director of Pharmacy and Senior Clinical Pharmacist (Psychiatry), Repatriation General Hospital, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Quality Use of Medicines & Pharmacy Research Centre, University of South Australia, SA
Reprints: Dr. Alderman, Pharmacy Department, Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park, South Australia 5041, Australia, fax 618 83740229, chris.alderman{at}health.sa.gov.au
Abstract
Despite considerable recent attention and wide-scale interventions by regulatory authorities that have changed drug usage patterns, the possible relationship between psychotropic pharmacotherapy and suicidal behavior among children and adolescents remains unclear. Confounding by diagnosis adds to confusion in the interpretation of the relationship between antidepressant use and suicidal behavior among young people. Recent research suggests that antidepressants may be protective against early readmission after hospitalization for suicide attempts or ideation, but that psychotropic polypharmacy (although common) may be associated with increased risk of rehospitalization. There remains an urgent need for high-quality, ongoing research into these clinical dilemmas.
Key Words: adolescents, antidepressants, children, polypharmacy, psychotropic drugs, suicide
Published Online, November 24, 2009. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1M549
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