The Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article was to provide an overview of the development and recommendations from the Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The guideline aims to promote accurate and timely identification and diagnosis, and optimal and consistent treatment of ADHD. METHODS: Development integrated the best available evidence with multidisciplinary clinical expertise and the preferences of those with lived experience, underpinned by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The 23 guideline development group members included psychiatrists, paediatricians, general practitioners, psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, educators, Indigenous psychologists, and people with a lived experience; with two independent chairs and a methodologist. Where appropriate, evidence reviews from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2018 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis and Management' guideline were updated. Fifty prioritised clinical questions were addressed in 14 systematic reviews (new and updated from NICE 2018) and 28 narrative reviews. RESULTS: The 113 clinical recommendations apply to young children (5 years and under), children, adolescents and adults. They provide guidance for clinicians on identification, screening, diagnosis, multimodal treatment and support, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The guideline and supporting information are available online: https://adhdguideline.aadpa.com.au/. CONCLUSIONS: The guideline was approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia and relevant medical and allied health professional associations. It is anticipated that successful implementation and uptake of the guideline by organisations, health care providers and other professionals will increase delivery of evidence-based treatment and improve health outcomes for the more than 800,000 Australians with ADHD.

Neurofeedback and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD) in Children: Rating the Evidence and Proposed Guidelines.

Stimulant medication and behaviour therapy are the most often applied and accepted treatments for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD). Here we explore where the non-pharmacological clinical intervention known as neurofeedback (NFB), fits on the continuum of empirically supported treatments, using standard protocols. In this quantitative review we utilized an updated and stricter version of the APA guidelines for rating 'well-established' treatments and focused on efficacy and effectiveness using effect-sizes (ES) and remission, with a focus on long-term effects. Efficacy and effectiveness are compared to medication and behaviour therapy using benchmark studies. Only recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses as well as multi-centre randomized controlled trials (RCT's) will be included. Two meta-analyses confirmed significant efficacy of standard neurofeedback protocols for parent and teacher rated symptoms with a medium effect size, and sustained effects after 6-12 months. Four multicenter RCT's demonstrated significant superiority to semi-active control groups, with medium-large effect sizes end of treatment or follow-up and remission rates of 32-47%. Effectiveness in open-label studies was confirmed, no signs of publication bias were found and no significant neurofeedback-specific side effects have been reported. Standard neurofeedback protocols in the treatment of ADHD can be concluded to be a well-established treatment with medium to large effect sizes and 32-47% remission rates and sustained effects as assessed after 6-12 months.