Abstract

Little is known about antipsychotic prescription patterns among children and adolescents in Japan, particularly in outpatient settings. We investigated the prevalence and trends of antipsychotic prescription for outpatients aged ≤ 17years receiving a first antipsychotic prescription from 2006 to 2012 based on a large-scale dispensation dataset. Measurements included age, sex, department of diagnosis and treatment, type of prescription (monotherapy or polytherapy), antipsychotic dosage, and concomitant psychotropic drugs. Of the 10,511 patients, 65.1% were aged 13-17years, and 52.9% were males. Second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy prescriptions increased from 53.8% in 2006 to 78.3% in 2012. Risperidone was the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic, followed by aripiprazole and olanzapine. Approximately 25.0% of patients were prescribed an initial dose less than recommended. Second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy is currently the most frequent prescription pattern among outpatients aged ≤ 17years receiving an initial antipsychotic prescription.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.