Evaluación del diagnóstico y tratamiento de los niños con trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad en España mediante la técnica Achievable Benchmarks of Care (ABC)

Abstract

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is currently of great interest to the public and the diagnostic process, evaluation of the follow-up and therapeutic strategies in these patients are the subject of a fierce debate. In this study we assess compliance with the ADHD diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines in Spain, in relation to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines, and it is measured using the Achievable Benchmarks of Care (ABC) technique.The study involved 215 specialists, 138 child and youth psychiatrists, and 77 neuropaediatricians. Questions were selected to elicit responses on compliance with the AAP diagnostic (1 to 5) and therapeutic (1 to 5) guidelines. The ABC technique, developed at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA, was applied for the analysis.The degree of compliance with the diagnostic guidelines was: guideline 2, 63.1% (ABC 100%), guidelines 3 and 4, 65.8% (ABC 100%) and guideline 5, 87% (ABC 100%); and in the treatment guidelines: guideline 2, 87.1% (ABC 100%) and guideline 3, 71.2% (ABC 100%).Compliance with the AAP guidelines for treating patients with ADHD is higher than observance of the diagnostic guidelines. In 10% of the best centres (ABC) compliance reaches 100% of all the guidelines, a high degree of adherence to the US guidelines, although compliance with them is not mandatory in our clinical area.