Understanding psychotropics

By Mark Kostic, MD

Right or wrong, children and adolescents are increasingly diagnosed with psychiatric illness. With the continued shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists, the responsibility of managing psychotropic medications often falls to the primary care pediatrician or family practitioner. These are complex medications with an array of side effects and interactions. Some confusion is almost inevitable.

Rather than present each compound individually, the most commonly utilized agents are presented in chart format. (Click here to view chart.) This is not an exhaustive list of either the drugs or their effects, but instead is meant to serve as a quick reference for the busy primary care provider.

Your regional poison control center and medical toxicologist are available to assist you in managing any adverse effect, drug interaction or overdose involving these or any agents. The national toll-free poison control hotline is 1-800-222-1222.

References

Micromedex® Healthcare Series, Volume 134.

V Bebarta, M Kostic, M Gonzalez. "Managing adverse reactions to psychotropic medications." Pediatric Annals, 34:12;947-954.

Mark Kostic, MD, is a medical toxicologist at the Wisconsin Poison Center, a program of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. He also is an assistant professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a member of Children's Specialty Group. 

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