Paper Example on Children and Antipsychotic Drugs

The article proposes whether doctors and psychiatrists should prescribe antipsychotic drugs to children and adolescents as well. The argument presented by the supporters is such that antipsychotic drugs are powerful tools that doctors prescribe to patients that have serious mental issues which are likely to come up in young people. There is much care required for the prescription of these drugs and need to be administered very carefully and safely as they turn out to be very effective in addressing many problems. In that case, the antipsychotic drugs can be administered to children but doctors should have tried other options and be left with only this single one.

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The opponent's case about the prescription of these drugs s that they have side effects that are not fully understood by the medical community and they will be adverse if prescribed to children. There are also less dangerous treatments which will even work better compared to the antipsychotic drugs. The opponents argue that doctors should stay away from administering antipsychotic drugs to children unless there are more long-term studies are conducted on the side effects.

The use of antipsychotic drugs on children is rather controversial because these drugs cause side effects even on the adults. The long-term impacts are unknown concerning the development of minds and also the bodies of young people. There is a need for more extensive testing to determine the effectiveness of treating some of the pediatric mental health problems that are prescribed. Both sides of the opponent and the supporters show that antipsychotic drugs are generally powerful and considering that the bodies of children are more sensitive compared to those of adults, doctors should be careful on the amounts to be taken.

All through the medication era, experts believe that labeling will still continue to be a field of contention that needs more safety than other departments. It is important that families be aware of the side effects that they are subjecting the children too if they allow the prescription of antipsychotic drugs hence the need for them to be labeled. There is a general need to control the rise of antipsychotic drugs being prescribed to young people.

The article is rather giving evidence from the side of opponents and supporters. I tend to take the side that suggests that side effects of these drugs on children are risky hence the need to be more careful and allow for better research that will help in better administration of drugs. That way, families will be aware of the seriousness of the drugs. The article is a piece of good evidence to offer support to the field of medicine and pediatrics most especially in drug prescription which is an area of interest.

Harrison N. J., Gross D., & Keller F. (2013) Antipsychotic Medication Prescribing Trends in Children and Adolescents. US National Library of Medicine

This article proposes the trends that have recently existed concerning the medication use, giving possible explanations for its increase, the implications on the health of children and also recommendations for the pediatric providers that work with children. Majority of children that have psychiatrist illness are those in the foster care systems and in juvenile correctional facilities as they house many violent teens. Similarly, it is in these areas where mental health care has been severely under-funded such that the adults handling the children need access to treatments which control the aggressive behaviors of the children hence the reason for administering antipsychotic drugs.

Administration of these drugs has been termed as treatment of last resort which comes after all other trials have not succeeded such as the training skills of parents and failure of other behavioral treatments. The aggressive behaviors that children portray are linked to the failing relationships in the family, home environments that are unpredictable and also stressful. However, in such a case, there is no appropriate course of treatment using antipsychotics because they do not solve the cause of the problem.

Thus, it is necessary to determine the overall nature of the illness of a child before deciding to administer antipsychotic drugs because it may not be the overall solution. Similarly, there is a need to seek consultation concerning the use and dosage. At most times, the antipsychotic drug use in children is normally off-label while this is the vulnerable population hence the requirement for gaining consent from the guardians before the prescription.

I support the fact that more information needs to be provided either through writing or verbally. This information should be about the risks and benefits of these medications, the requirement for ongoing monitoring, any potential adverse events and the person that they consult before reaching the point of treatment. This article is excellent in advising on the use of these drugs to the children that are adversely affected. Families more so the parents and legal guardians should demonstrate a full understanding of the issues before they could take the last option of administering the antipsychotic drugs to these children.

Rettew, David C., et al. "Antipsychotic medication prescribing in children enrolled in Medicaid." Pediatrics 135.4 (2015): 658-665.

The article describes the proposal of the prescription of antipsychotic medication in children that are enrolled in Medicaid. There has been an increase in children who are on this medication and there is less than they know about the close relation of how the treatment follows the practice recommendations. The study provides data concerning the time and the reasons that clinicians decide to make use of antipsychotic medications.

There are a couple of recommendations that clinicians should be aware of when prescribing the treatment. These drugs are only considered first-line medication if the patient is suffering from a bipolar disorder such as schizophrenia and autism and in others, it is the last option. This way, doctors will not be prompted by any situations to prescribe antipsychotic drugs to disorders that are not bipolar because they will not be offering the right medication. Other diagnoses that will need these drugs are such as disruptive behaviors, disorders of eating and also posttraumatic stress disorders.

It is also recommended that antipsychotic medications are not to be used on children who are aged below five years. While administering the medication, there should be no combination with other therapies as the drugs alone are powerful tools. There should also be regular monitoring of the metabolic adverse effects, especially during the antipsychotic medication use. The dosage needs to be as low as possible and not exceeding the one that is maximumly recommended for adults.

The article proposes these recommendations when administering the drugs to children as they will be clear guidelines to the physicians on the ways that they should follow to control the potential profounding impacts of these drugs on children. It is important to note that the best practice guidelines should be met more so by the doctors who prescribe drugs even when they are on off-label measures.

The article provides the best guideline practices that will be necessary for prescription of antipsychotic drugs to children especially because of the increase in its use with the unknown adverse effects that continue to affect children as they are less known to parents. Thus, there should be total inclusiveness of the medical practitioners and the families to do a thorough scrutiny of the kind of medication and psychotherapy that is needed by the child and offer counseling where it is necessary. The piece provides useful information that adds knowledge to the medical field learning and can be used for significant evaluation on these drugs and their prescription types.

Ferrin, Maite, et al. "Using antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia in children and adolescents." IACAPAP e-textbook of child and adolescent mental health. Geneva: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (2016).

Information from the article proposes the use of antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia diagnosed in children and adolescents. The major proposition of the article are the core principles that need to be included in the programs for intervention. Researchers define schizophrenia as a group of conditions that are heterogeneous and which also have multi-factorial causes. The psychosis symptoms could either be positive in the sense of delusions and hallucinations, negative in terms of impairment in social interactions and cognitive such as impairment of executive functions which all require antipsychotic medication.

One principle that should be included in this kind of medication is the need for raising awareness in that medical practitioners should raise knowledge concerning the importance of early detection of the psychotic illness and ensuring its management. Families should be first to notice instances of stress and medication which they can try to manage before it goes out of hand. Children may not be able to clearly speak out about what they feel because they may be unaware of symptoms of these disorders hence the family should be aware of how it comes about and how to seek treatment.

Another core principle is that of assessment which should be done comprehensively concerning the comorbid disorders which include depression as well as anxiety. This is more so for the medical practitioners to be aware of the level of treatment they need to prescribe because early phases of the disorders do not require powerful drugs. There is also the core principle of pharmacological treatment which is inclusive of reduction of symptoms, monitoring any side effects and also careful titration. These allow for care coordination in that there will be rapid allocation of the key workers as well as the care plans which are more focused on the management of risks and prevention of relapse. Children require treatment before the clinician decides to offer the antipsychotic drugs because they should be the last option.

There is also the need for psychosocial interventions for these children to try and see whether there will be changed behavior in time. The interventions include psychoeducation to the families, identification, offering family therapy and considering support for these families. These will help promote full recovery and participation in society. These core principles are mechanisms for actions when children have psychotic disorders before administration of the antipsychotic drugs.

The piece is useful in providing common medication practices that medical practitioners should consider. The dosage of antipsychotic drugs should be the last option for children.

Works Cited

"Children and Antipsychotic Drugs: Should doctors and psychiatrists prescribe antipsychotic drugs to children and adolescents?" Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning, 10 Jan. 2011, http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=2320. Accessed 8 May 2019

Ferrin, Maite, et al. "Using antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia in children and adolescents." IACAPAP e-textbook of child and adolescent mental health. Geneva: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (2016).

Harrison N. J., Gross D., & Keller F. Antipsychotic Medication Prescribing Trends in Children and Adolescents.