CONTEXT Psychotropic medication polypharmacy is common in psychiatric outpatient settings and, in some patient groups, may have increased in recent years. OBJECTIVE To examine patterns and recent trends in psychotropic polypharmacy among visits to office-based psychiatrists. DESIGN Annual data from the 1996-2006 cross-sectional National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys were analyzed to exami...

AIM The current study examined the frequency of psychotropic prescriptions in a clinical sample of eating disorder (ED) patients confirming earlier research indicating their use is very common but inconsistent with evidence-based recommendations. METHODS The sample consisted of 501 ED patients admitted to an adult partial hospitalization or adolescent residential program. Patients were divide...

OBJECTIVE to compare the prescription of psychotropic medications for patients living in care homes with that for patients living at home. DESIGN AND SETTING retrospective population database study in the Tayside region of Scotland. SUBJECTS 70,297 patients aged ≥65 and followed until death or the end of the study. METHODS examining registered addresses for all people aged 65-99 identifie...

OBJECTIVE Longitudinal trends in the dispensing of antidepressant, antipsychotic and ADHD medications from 2009-2012 were examined according to age and gender of patient and prescriber speciality. Of particular interest were changing trends in the prescription of psychotropic medications to children, adolescents and young adults. METHOD Dispensing data for government-subsidised antidepressant...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to provide national estimates of psychotropic medication use among Medicaid-enrolled children with autism spectrum disorders and to examine child and health system characteristics associated with psychotropic medication use. METHODS This cross-sectional study used Medicaid claims for calendar year 2001 from all 50 states and Washington, DC, to examine...

Little is known about the neurobiological effects of psychotropic medications used in the treatment of children and adolescents diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. This review provides a synopsis of the literature demonstrating the neural effects associated with exposure to psychotropic medication in youth using multimodal neuroimaging. The article concludes by illustrating how, taken togeth...

Commonly used psychotropic medications are widely presumed to have deleterious effects on neuropsychological test performance. However, given the special difficulties of neuropsychological assessment with psychiatric populations, these effects have rarely been directly examined for differential, quantitative effects on test scores. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery is described th...

Psychotropic medications are often crucial in restoring criminal defendants to competency to stand trial. However, some defendants committed for competency evaluations or restoration refuse medications. Thus, psychiatric professionals who work in jails and secure hospitals, and even in community mental health settings, may encounter questions about involuntarily medicating patients who are inco...

As the opening scenario illustrates about Mary and Bob, bipolar disorder can be devastating to individuals and families. Managing symptoms through psychotropic medications can help people with mental illness better manage their lives. Our brief review of the current research supports the effectiveness of atypical antipsychotic medications and, therefore, supports their use in treating bipolar d...

Activity Date: This activity will be available as an online learning module starting March 10, 2014, and will be available for one year. material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  Prescribe the appropriate psychotropic medication to treat symptoms of autism spectrum disorde...