OBJECTIVES To determine whether excessive and often inappropriate or dangerous psychotropic drug dispensing to older adults is unique to care homes or is a continuation of community treatment. DESIGN Population-based data-linkage study using prescription drug information. SETTING Northern Ireland's national prescribing database and care home information from the national inspectorate. PAR...

Objectives To assess the impact of in utero co-exposure to psychotropic medications and opioids on the incidence and severity of neonatal drug withdrawal.Design Observational cohort study.Setting Nationwide sample of pregnancies in publicly insured women in the US, nested in the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (2000-10).Participants 201 275 pregnant women with public insurance who were exposed to opi...

BACKGROUND Current clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological interventions as first-line treatments for young patients aged 16-24 years with a mental health condition (MHC). However, several studies have noted increasing trends in psychotropic prescribing for this age group, especially in antidepressant prescribing. In Australia, the vast majority of psychotropic medications prescribed ...

All therapeutic interventions are double-edged swords with benefits and adverse effects, and pharmacotherapy is not an exception. Shortly after the introduction of conventional antipsychotic drugs into clinical practice, relatively rare but serious complications with hyperthermia, muscle rigidity, autonomic instability, and disturbed mental status were recognized to develop in some patients tre...

The risks and benefits of psychopharmacological treatment in pregnancy need careful consideration. Conventional antipsychotics and tricyclic antidepressants are relatively safe for the foetus. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors appear to be safe, but mood stabilisers such as lithium, sodium valproate and carbamazepine are associated with increased foetal malformations. Benzodiazepines in t...

BACKGROUND Primary care physicians are playing an increasing role in providing mental health care. Psychotropic drugs prescription may be used evaluate primary care physicians in treating and caring for mental disorders. OBJECTIVE Evaluate the prevalence, pattern, and rational of psychotropic drugs prescribing by primary care physicians in a tertiary care university hospital. MATERIAL AND M...

OBJECTIVES To describe the incidence of recorded mental illness and challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability in UK primary care and to explore the prescription of psychotropic drugs in this group. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING 571 general practices contributing data to The Health Improvement Network clinical database. PARTICIPANTS 33,016 adults (58% male) with intellect...

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...

Objectives: Psychotropic drug use in the elderly with chronic schizophrenia is an important issue in the field of psychiatry. The main goal of this study was to clarify the pattern of such drug use in these patients, in order to consider such therapy plan and focus on its cost attributing measures, for a more reasonable quality of care program. Methods: In this descriptive study, participant...

BACKGROUND Mental illness is highly prevalent among prisoners. Although psychotropic medicines can ameliorate symptoms of mental illness, prescribers in prisons must balance clinical needs against risks to safety and security. Concerns have been raised at the large number of prisoners reportedly receiving psychotropic medicines in England. Nonetheless, unlike for the wider community, robust pre...