Outcomes of a 12-week ecologically valid observational study of first treatment with methylphenidate in a representative clinical sample of drug naïve children with ADHD.

Randomized placebo-controlled trials have reported efficacy of methylphenidate (MPH) for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, selection biases due to strict entry criteria may limit the generalizability of the findings. Few ecologically valid studies have investigated effectiveness of MPH in representative clinical populations of children. This independently funded study aims to describe treatment responses and their predictors during the first 12 weeks of MPH treatment using repeated measurements of symptoms and adverse reactions (ARs) to treatment in 207 children recently diagnosed with ADHD. The children were consecutively included from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, The Capital Region of Denmark. The children (mean age, 9.6 years [range 7-12], 75.4% males) were titrated with MPH, based on weekly assessments of symptoms (18-item ADHD-rating scale scores, ADHD-RS-C) and ARs. At study-end 187 (90.8%) children reached a mean end-dose of 1.0 mg/kg/day. A normalisation/borderline normalisation on ADHD-RS-C was achieved for 168 (81.2%) children on the Inattention and/or the Hyperactivity-Impulsivity subscale in week 12, and 31 (15.0%) children were nonresponders, which was defined as absence of normalisation/borderline normalisation (n = 19) or discontinuation due to ARs (n = 12), and eight (3.8%) children dropped out from follow-up. Nonresponders were characterised by more severe symptoms of Hyperactivity-Impulsivity and global impairment before the treatment. ARs were few; the most prominent were appetite reduction and weight loss. A decrease in AR-like symptoms during the treatment period questions the validity of currently available standard instruments designed to measure ARs of MPH. This ecologically valid observational study supports prior randomized placebo-controlled trials; 81.2% of the children responded favourably in multiple domains with few harmful effects to carefully titrated MPH. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov with registration number NCT04366609.

Safety and Tolerability of Lisdexamfetamine: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurobehavioural disorder in children. Pharmacotherapy plays a main role in multimodal treatment, albeit adverse effects are a concern. Lisdexamfetamine is a newer pharmacological option and post-marketing studies on adverse events are limited. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in patients receiving lisdexamfetamine in a clinical setting. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Glostrup Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. We included all consecutive patients >6 years old, with an ICD-10 diagnosis of ADHD who were initiated on lisdexamfetamine between May 2013 and July 2014. TEAEs were assessed by a clinician and chart audit. RESULTS: Forty-three patients (91 % male) with a median age of 11 (range 8-15) years were included and received lisdexamfetamine for a median of 188 days (range 3-433). In total, 23.3 % of the patients discontinued treatment due to a TEAE. 88 % of the patients experienced at least one TEAE and the time to first TEAE ≤4 weeks in 83.8 % of the patients. A new TEAE was experienced by 39.5 % of the patients compared with the TEAEs that patients had experienced when taking previous ADHD medication. The most common TEAEs (≥ 5 %) were decreased appetite, difficulty falling asleep, tics, stomach ache and weight loss. A subjectively assessed good or good but time-limited (during the day only) effect was observed in 62.7 %. CONCLUSION: Lisdexamfetamine treatment in this small group of patients who had received previous stimulant medication for ADHD was well tolerated and the TEAEs were consistent with findings in previous trials, although more than one third of the patients experienced TEAEs not observed with previously taken ADHD medication. Both the number of patients experiencing TEAEs and the rates of discontinuation due to TEAEs were higher than previously reported.