SNUPN deficiency causes a recessive muscular dystrophy due to RNA mis-splicing and ECM dysregulation.

SNURPORTIN-1, encoded by SNUPN, plays a central role in the nuclear import of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. However, its physiological function remains unexplored. In this study, we investigate 18 children from 15 unrelated families who present with atypical muscular dystrophy and neurological defects. Nine hypomorphic SNUPN biallelic variants, predominantly clustered in the last coding exon, are ascertained to segregate with the disease. We demonstrate that mutant SPN1 failed to oligomerize leading to cytoplasmic aggregation in patients' primary fibroblasts and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutant cell lines. Additionally, mutant nuclei exhibit defective spliceosomal maturation and breakdown of Cajal bodies. Transcriptome analyses reveal splicing and mRNA expression dysregulation, particularly in sarcolemmal components, causing disruption of cytoskeletal organization in mutant cells and patient muscle tissues. Our findings establish SNUPN deficiency as the genetic etiology of a previously unrecognized subtype of muscular dystrophy and provide robust evidence of the role of SPN1 for muscle homeostasis.

Network analysis of pandemic fatigue symptoms in samples from five South American countries.

BACKGROUND: Pandemic fatigue generates low motivation or the ability to comply with protective behaviors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. AIMS: This study aimed to analyze the symptoms of pandemic fatigue through network analysis in individuals from five South American countries. METHOD: A total of 1,444 individuals from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay participated and were evaluated using the Pandemic Fatigue Scale. The networks were estimated using the ggmModSelect estimation method and a polychoric correlation matrix was used. Stability assessment of the five networks was performed using the nonparametric resampling method based on the case bootstrap type. For the estimation of network centrality, a metric based on node strength was used, whereas network comparison was performed using a permutation-based approach. RESULTS: The results showed that the relationships between pandemic fatigue symptoms were strongest in the demotivation dimension. Variability in the centrality of pandemic fatigue symptoms was observed among participating countries. Finally, symptom networks were invariant and almost identical across participating countries. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to provide information on how pandemic fatigue symptoms were related during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Pandemic Fatigue" in South America: A Multi-Center Report from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a heavy impact on daily life, leading to physical and psychosocial consequences. Nowadays, clinicians and health researchers are particularly interested in describing and facing the long-term effects of COVID-19, also known as "long-COVID syndrome". Pandemic fatigue has been defined as a cluster of demotivation, tiredness, and psychological effects that emerge gradually over time after the infection or through the adoption of the recommended measures to combat it. In this study, we report the findings of a large survey conducted in South America involving 1448 participants (mean age: 33.9 ± 11.2 years old) from Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Peru, and Paraguay. An online survey was launched through the common social media based on a specific assessment aimed to detect the prevalence of pandemic fatigue and associated factors. Socio-demographic characteristics, medical, and personal information were collected; the Pandemic Fatigue Scale (PFS) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were also administered. We found mid-levels of pandemic fatigue among respondents (21.7 ± 7.95 score at PFS) as well as significant anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic (1.56 ± 2.76 score at CAS). In addition, pandemic fatigue was significantly associated with the experience of the loss of a relative/friend due to COVID-19, anxiety related to the infection, and reliance on social media as a primary source of information on the pandemic. Vaccination significantly reduced the levels of fatigue among respondents. Our findings may add to the international debate regarding the long-term health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to manage them in the general population of South America.

Intento de Autoeliminación en la Niñez y Adolescencia. Presentación de un modelo de prevención del intento de autoeliminación en niños y adolescentes tempranos en un Hospital Pediátrico en Montevideo

RESUMEN Objetivo general: Descripción del trabajo realizado en la Policlínica Especializada en Conductas Autolesivas (PECA) de la Clínica de Psiquiatría Infantil. Presentación de un posible modelo de prevención del segundo o posteriores intentos de autoeliminación(IAE). Metodología: Estudio descriptivo, transversal de una muestra de niños y adolescentes de edades entre 6 y 15 años que consultaron por comportamientos suicidas en un periodo de 9 meses (n=102 pacientes), en los años 2012-2013. Se realizaron entrevistas clínicas semiestructuradas, se aplicó la CBCL (Child Behavior Check List) y Cuestionario complementario. Resultados: El 78,8 % de la muestra son del sexo femenino y el 75 % tienen entre 12-14 años. Primer IAE 68 %, segundo o más IAE 16 %. Escolarizados 63,6 %. Media de PT (Problemas Totales) 66,4. El 42,3 % de los padres refieren que sus hijos son víctima de violencia. Del total de 102, 90 continúan su tratamiento. Frecuencia de reingresos 12 %. Un suicidio. Conclusiones: El desarrollo de un modelo de prevención del segundo o posteriores intentos de autoeliminación durante un periodo de 9 meses, evidencia la importancia de un seguimiento de proximidad. Las alteraciones emocionales y conductuales objetivadas en una población joven se favorecen por los bajos niveles de escolaridad y la violencia intrafamiliar.

ABSTRACT General objectives: Explain the way in which the Specialized Polyclinic in Self-Injury Behaviors, works in the Child Psychiatry Clinic. Prevention of second or more suicide attempt. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional study of a sample of children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 15 who consulted for suicidal behaviors in a period of 9 months (n 102 patients). Semi-structured clinical interviews were conducted and the CBCL (Child Behavior Check List) and supplementary questionnaire was applied. Results: Female 78,8%. 12-14 years old 75%. First suicide attempt 68%, second or more 16%. Schooling 63,6%. Mean of PT 66,4. 42,3% of parents report that their children are victims of violence. Of 102 patients, 90 (88%) continue their treatment. Frequency of readmissions 12%. One suicide, 1%. Conclusions: These numbers warm of a serious problem that requires great efforts to identify possible risk factors and reduce their incidence.

An interesting case of giant fusiform right coronary artery aneurysm.

Coronary artery aneurysm is an uncommon cardiovascular disease and a standard surgical approach is still not recognized. A 58-year-old man was referred to our department, after being investigated for worsening shortness of breath and tiredness, with a diagnosis of a 70 mm right coronary artery aneurysm. Surgical excision of the aneurysm and single vein graft on the posterior descending artery was performed, with satisfactory results.

[Atypical Kawasaki disease with acute cholestasis and early coronary involvement at onset in an adolescent]. / Malattia di Kawasaki atipica esordita con colestasi acuta ed interessamento coronarico precoce in un adolescente.

Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile illness of childhood that affects usually children younger than 5 years of age. The diagnosis is based on typical clinical features. Atypical or incomplete forms of Kawasaki disease can be observed in almost 20% of patients and at onset is a clinical challenge leading to diagnostic and therapeutic delays with higher risk of coronary abnormalities. We report the case of a 13-year-old boy who presented with febrile cholestasis, abdominal pain and early coronary anomalies that was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease. Atypical findings of our case at onset were the age, the clinical presentation and the timing of appearance of coronary anomalies. A high index of suspicion of Kawasaki disease should be maintained in patients presenting with febrile cholestatic jaundice.

Italian COVID-19 epidemic: effects on paediatric emergency attendance-a survey in the Emilia Romagna region.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic on paediatric emergency department (ED) attendance in a region of Northern Italy. METHODS: A survey was proposed to six out of nine paediatric EDs in the Emilia Romagna region to evaluate attendance data, distribution by age and gender, triage code score, outcome of clinical course, number of hospitalisations and the distribution of patients by disease. Data were collected during March 2020 and compared with that of March 2019. RESULTS: A drop in paediatric ED attendance of more than 83.8% was observed, with a higher percentage of infants and severe triage scores. The proportion of patients hospitalised was significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019 (p value: <0.001). The effect size for the comparison of proportions of hospitalised patients was 0.379. Looking at the distribution of attendance by type of disease, a significantly different distribution was highlighted (p value: <0.00001, Cramer's V); there was a greater proportion of patients presenting to paediatric EDs with poisonings (effect size=0.07), psychiatric pathologies (effect size=0.110), head injuries (effect size=0.167) and fever (effect size=0.212). CONCLUSIONS: Our survey suggests that in the first month of the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy, there has been an increase in delayed attendance and provision of care of potentially severe diseases in paediatric EDs. Hospital and community paediatricians should be aware of this phenomenon and adopt appropriate strategies to prevent this danger, as it may affect children more seriously than COVID-19 itself.

Child and adolescent psychiatry training in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile: current panorama and future challenges.

Mental disorders affect approximately 10-15% of children and adolescents worldwide. In South America these numbers are probably higher due to poverty and adverse life events that frequently affect this region. The availability of qualified services and well-trained professionals to care for those children are by far insufficient. The aim of this study was to assess and describe child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) training in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, to support the development and strengthen training standards. The coordinators of CAP residency programs in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile were invited to answer an online questionnaire about the characteristics of their training programs. Twelve programs from Brazil, three programs from Chile, two from Argentina, and one from Uruguay completed the questionnaires. In the last three countries, CAP is recognized as an independent specialty, while in Brazil it is considered a subspecialty of psychiatry. None of the countries have a national guideline for CAP residency training. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of professionals interested in pursuing a formal CAP training. This is the first study aiming to evaluate the current scenario of CAP training in South America. The results point to a great potential in the evaluated programs, but also to the need for homogeneous criteria for CAP training and evaluation of residents. A more efficient communication among programs would be an enriching strategy for their development, which may be facilitated by the results of this study.

Testing Syndromes of Psychopathology in Parent and Youth Ratings Across Societies.

As societies become increasingly diverse, mental health professionals need instruments for assessing emotional, behavioral, and social problems in terms of constructs that are supported within and across societies. Building on decades of research findings, multisample alignment confirmatory factor analyses tested an empirically based 8-syndrome model on parent ratings across 30 societies and youth self-ratings across 19 societies. The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 and Youth Self-Report for Ages 11-18 were used to measure syndromes descriptively designated as Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems, Rule-Breaking Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior. For both parent ratings (N = 61,703) and self-ratings (N = 29,486), results supported aggregation of problem items into 8 first-order syndromes for all societies (configural invariance), plus the invariance of item loadings (metric invariance) across the majority of societies. Supported across many societies in both parent and self-ratings, the 8 syndromes offer a parsimonious phenotypic taxonomy with clearly operationalized assessment criteria. Mental health professionals in many societies can use the 8 syndromes to assess children and youths for clinical, training, and scientific purposes.

Validity and reliability of the kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia present and lifetime version DSM-5 (K-SADS-PL-5) Spanish version.

BACKGROUND: There are various language adaptations of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). In order to comply with the changes in DSM classification, the Spanish edition of the interview was in need of update and evaluation. METHODS: K-SADS-PL was adapted to correspond to DSM-5 categories. All clinicians received training, and a 90% agreement was reached. Patients and their parents or guardians were interviewed and videotaped, and the videos were exchanged between raters. Factor analysis was performed and inter-rater reliability was calculated only in the case of diagnoses in which there were more than five patients. RESULTS: A total of 74 subjects were included. The Factor Analysis yielded six factors (Depressive, Stress Hyperarousal, Disruptive Behavioral, Irritable Explosive, Obsessive Repetitive and Encopresis), representing 72% of the variance. Kappa values for inter-rater agreement were larger than 0.7 for over half of the disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The factor structure of diagnoses, made with the instrument was found to correspond to the DSM-5 disorder organization. The instrument showed good construct validity and inter-rater reliability, which makes it a useful tool for clinical research studies in children and adolescents.

Construct validity and parent-child agreement of the six new or modified disorders included in the Spanish version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia present and Lifetime Version DSM-5 (K-SADS-PL-5).

Changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5) incorporate the inclusion or modification of six disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and Binge Eating Disorder. The objectives of this study were to assess the construct validity and parent-child agreement of these six disorders in the Spanish language Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL-5) in a clinical population of children and adolescents from Latin America. The Spanish version of the K-SADS-PL was modified to integrate changes made to the DSM-5. Clinicians received training in the K-SADS-PL-5 and 90% agreement between raters was obtained. A total of 80 patients were recruited in four different countries in Latin America. All items from each of the six disorders were included in a factor analysis. Parent-child agreement was calculated for every item of the six disorders, including the effect of sex and age. The factor analysis revealed 6 factors separately grouping the items defining each of the new or modified disorders, with Eigenvalues greater than 2. Very good parent-child agreements (r>0.8) were found for the large majority of the items (93%), even when considering the sex or age of the patient. This independent grouping of disorders suggests that the manner in which the disorders were included into the K-SADS-PL-5 reflects robustly the DSM-5 constructs and displayed a significant inter-informant reliability. These findings support the use of K-SADS-PL-5 as a clinical and research tool to evaluate these new or modified diagnoses.

Trastorno negativista desafiante: una puesta al día para pediatras y psiquiatras infantiles

El Trastorno Negativista Desafiante será diagnosticado en un niño que presenta un comportamiento disruptivo para su edad y cultura, caracterizado por un patrón persistente de mal humor o irritabilidad, que discute o presenta comportamientos desafiantes y/o vengativos por lo menos durante los últimos 6 meses. Este trastorno no sólo afecta al niño, sino que es un problema de salud pública, que alcanza a la familia, a los maestros y a los pares. Cuando no se atiende adecuadamente, el trastorno negativista desafiante puede evolucionar a un problema de conducta mayor como el trastorno disocial o a la generación de una personalidad antisocial. Con el fin de ayudar a pediatras y a psiquiatras infantiles en el reconocimiento y manejo de estos "niños problemáticos", este artículo de revisión tiene el objetivo de presentar una puesta al día del concepto, etiopatogenia, clínica, diagnóstico y modalidades terapéuticas para este desafiante grupo de pacientes.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is diagnosed in a child who exhibits a disruptive behavior for their age and culture, characterized by a persistent pattern of an angry mood or irritability, and who presents oppositional and / or vindictive behavior for at least the last 6 months. This disorder not only affects the child, but is a public health problem that affects the child's family, teachers and peers. When not addressed properly, oppositional defiant disorder can evolve into a significant behavioral problem, such as conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder. In order to help pediatricians and child psychiatrists in the recognition and management of these "problematic children", this review article aims to present an update of the definition, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and therapeutic modalities for this challenging group of patients.

Surgical treatment of a giant left main aneurysm.

Coronary artery aneurysms are a rare finding and even more any coronary dilation having a diameter 1.5 times greater than the adjacent artery qualified as giant. No established treatment protocol exists. We report the case of a 75-year old man with a clinical symptom of chest pain on exertion, worsening in the last 6 months, who was diagnosed with a giant left main aneurysm. Surgical ligation of the proximal left anterior descending artery and first diagonal and triple bypass, using saphenous vein graft to vascularize the proximal circumflex artery, left anterior descending artery and first diagonal, was performed.

Síntomas psiquiátricos asociados al consumo de pasta base de cocaína en niños y adolescentes: un estudio exploratorio en Montevideo, Uruguay / Psychiatric symptoms associated with cocaine paste consumption in children and adolescents: an exploratory study in Montevideo, Uruguay

Introducción: Desde principios de los años 2000, el consumo de Pasta Base de Cocaína (PBC) se hizo objeto de preocupación para los clínicos y los actores de Sanidad Pública en Uruguay. A pesar de la importancia del fenómeno existen muy pocos estudios sobre las condiciones psiquiátricas asociadas al consumo de PBC, especialmente en población pediátrica, siendo esta la más vulnerable y la que puede beneficiar de intervenciones precoces eficaces. El objetivo de este trabajo era determinar la asociación entre problemas psiquiátricos y consumo de PBC en niños y adolescentes hospitalizados. Método: Realizamos un estudio observacional comparativo, entre 2008 y 2010, en una población que consultaba en las urgencias del hospital pediátrico de Montevideo (Uruguay). Un grupo consumidor de PBC (N = 20) fue comparado con un grupo no consumidor de sustancias psicoactivas (N = 20) con el Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) que mide los problemas emocionales y conductuales del joven. Resultados: El grupo consumidor de PBC mostraba niveles significativamente superiores de problemas externalizados e internalizados, particularmente comportamientos oposicionistas. Conclusiones: El consumo de PBC se asocia a niveles mayores de problemas psiquiátricos en los jóvenes. Actuar precozmente para prevenir el consumo de PBC y tratar los problemas externalizados en los consumidores parece esencial para mejorar la salud de los jóvenes en Uruguay.

ntroduction: Since the years 2000, the consumption of Cocaine Paste (CP) has become an important issue for clinicians and public health actors in Uruguay. In spite of the importance of the phenomenon few studies have focused on psychiatric conditions associated with CP consumption, especially in the paediatric population yet the most vulnerable and the one that could benefit from early effective interventions. The aim of this work was to determine the association between psychiatric problems and CP consumption in inpatients youths. Methods: We conducted an observational and comparative study between 2008 and 2010, in a paediatric population consulting in the child psychiatric emergency room of Montevideo (Uruguay). A group consuming CP (N = 20) was compared to a group not consuming psychoactive substances (N = 20) with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results: The group consuming CP showed significantly higher levels of externalizing and internalizing problems, particularly oppositional behaviors. Conclusions: CP consumption is associated with higher levels of psychiatric symptoms in youths. Early interventions to prevent CP consumption and treat externalizing problems is of utmost importance to improve the health of youths in Uruguay.

International epidemiology of child and adolescent psychopathology ii: integration and applications of dimensional findings from 44 societies.

OBJECTIVE: To build on Achenbach, Rescorla, and Ivanova (2012) by (a) reporting new international findings for parent, teacher, and self-ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report, and Teacher's Report Form; (b) testing the fit of syndrome models to new data from 17 societies, including previously underrepresented regions; (c) testing effects of society, gender, and age in 44 societies by integrating new and previous data; (d) testing cross-society correlations between mean item ratings; (e) describing the construction of multisociety norms; (f) illustrating clinical applications. METHOD: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of parent, teacher, and self-ratings, performed separately for each society; tests of societal, gender, and age effects on dimensional syndrome scales, DSM-oriented scales, Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales; tests of agreement between low, medium, and high ratings of problem items across societies. RESULTS: CFAs supported the tested syndrome models in all societies according to the primary fit index (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA]), but less consistently according to other indices; effect sizes were small-to-medium for societal differences in scale scores, but very small for gender, age, and interactions with society; items received similarly low, medium, or high ratings in different societies; problem scores from 44 societies fit three sets of multisociety norms. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically derived syndrome models fit parent, teacher, and self-ratings when tested individually in all 44 societies according to RMSEAs (but less consistently according to other indices). Small to medium differences in scale scores among societies supported the use of low-, medium-, and high-scoring norms in clinical assessment of individual children.

[The severe dysregulated child. Clinical research]. / El niño portador de un trastorno grave del humor y del comportamiento. Investigación clínica.

The term severe pathology of mood and behaviors includes a wide range of clinical presentations. A nosographic entity which is not clearly defined, the defiance is to search for scales that identify, using the same core phenotype, the patients with Emotional Dysregulation or Bipolar Spectrum Disorders. The Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) and their subscales seem to be helpful in identifying severe psychopathology of childhood, characterized by affective, behavioral and cognitive dysregulation. The family background and medical comorbidity (abnormal thyroidprofile) seem to be related to special entity diagnosed by the clinician.

Non-invasive methods can predict oesophageal varices in patients with biliary atresia after a Kasai procedure.

BACKGROUND: After a Kasai procedure, 70% of patients with biliary atresia develop chronic liver disease with portal hypertension and oesophageal varices. AIMS: To investigate the role of new non-invasive parameters in predicting the presence of varices in patients with biliary atresia after a Kasai procedure and to identify the cut-off values of these parameters in predicting the presence of varices. METHODS: 31 patients with biliary atresia who had undergone a Kasai portoenterostomy were studied. Clinical, biochemical and abdominal ultrasound examination, liver stiffness measurement (LSM), LSM-spleen diameter to platelet ratio score (LSPS) and upper digestive endoscopy were performed. RESULTS: 15 (47%) patients had oesophageal varices (Group A) and 16 had no varices (Group B). Median values of LSM (kPa) and LSPS were significantly higher in Group A than in Group B (LSM: 17.0 vs. 7.5, respectively; p=0.0001; LSPS: 19.62 vs. 2.94, respectively; p=0.0001). The optimal cut-offs for predicting oesophageal varices were: LSM>10.6 kPa (sensitivity: 87%, specificity: 87.5%, PPV: 87%, NPV: 87.5%, and AUC: 0.92) and LSPS ≥9.2 (sensitivity: 91%, specificity: 92%, PPV: 91%, NPV: 92%, and AUC: 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive methods can predict the presence of oesophageal varices in patients with biliary atresia; the sequential use of two non-invasive methods improves accuracy.

Testing multicultural robustness of the Child Behavior Checklist in a national epidemiological sample in Uruguay.

Comparisons of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores from 31 societies (Rescorla et al. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) supported the instrument's multicultural robustness, but none of these societies was in South America. The present study tested the multicultural robustness of the 2001 CBCL using data from a national epidemiological survey in Uruguay. Participants were 1,374 6- to 11-year-olds recruited through 65 schools nationwide; 1,098 (80%) had received no mental health or special education services in the past year (non-referred group), whereas 276 (referred group) had been referred for mental health services, had repeated ≥ 2 grades, or had significant developmental disabilities. Mean item ratings, factor structure, and scale internal consistencies were very similar to findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) and Ivanova et al. (Journal of Clinical Child and Adoloescent Psychology 36: 405-417 2007). Children from low SES school environments obtained higher problem scores, especially in the referred group. Gender, age, and referral status effects paralleled those in the U.S. Non-referred children obtained somewhat higher mean problem scores in Uruguay than in the U.S., but mean score differences between non-referred and referred children were smaller in Uruguay than the U.S. Findings supporting the CBCL's multicultural robustness in a South American country extend the generalizability of findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) for 31 societies.

Uso de metilfenidato en niños y adolescentes usuarios de servicios de asistencia pública de Montevideo / Methylphenidate use in children and adolescents in public health services of Montevideo

Introducción: el metilfenidato es el psicofármaco recomendado para el tratamiento del trastorno por déficit atencional e hiperactividad (TDAH), la alteración del comportamiento más frecuente en niños. En las farmacias del Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell (CHPR) y del Hospital Vilardebó (HV), responsables de la dispensación de metilfenidato a los beneficiarios de los servicios dependientes de la Administración de Servicios de Salud del Estado (ASSE), ésta se duplicó entre 2001 y 2006. A nivel internacional, recientemente se ha advertido sobre la aparición de reacciones adversas graves. Objetivo: describir el uso de metilfenidato en una población de niños beneficiarios del sector público de salud de Montevideo. Metodología: se identificaron los niños de 6 a 14 años que retiraron metilfenidato de las farmacias del CHPR y del HV, entre setiembre y diciembre de 2006. En base al número de niños potenciales usuarios de ASSE de Montevideo y la frecuencia estimada de la enfermedad (5%) se determinó el tamaño muestral en 114 (IC95%; imprecisión 3%). Se realizó una encuesta telefónica a los padres y/o tutores del niño en la que se analizó: indicación; prescripción; reacciones adversas; beneficio terapéutico. La calidad de la prescripción se evaluó mediante las Recomendaciones de la Academia Americana de Pediatría del año 2001.Resultados: se realizaron 124 encuestas. La edad media de los niños fue 10 años; 77% varones. El 93,5% (n=116) cumplía con los criterios diagnósticos de TDAH del DSM IV. La dosis media utilizada fue 12,9 mg. El 64,5% de los niños recibía el medicamento una vez al día, 27,4% dos veces/día, 5,6% tres veces/día y uno cuatro veces/día. El 85,5% recibía el medicamento antes de ir a la escuela. El 84,6% de los padres notaron beneficio terapéutico; el 56% de éstos recibía otro psicofármaco. En el 59,7% se comunicó una o más posibles reacciones adversas. Las más frecuentes fueron cefalea (29%), disminución del apetito (25%)...

Introduction: methylphenidate is used in the treatment of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common behavioral disorder in children. Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell (CHPR) and Hospital Vilardebó (HV) pharmacies are responsibles of dispensation of methylphenidate to the users of services of Administración de Servicios de Salud del Estado (ASSE). Dispensation has increased two folders between 2001 and 2006. International advertistments about severe adverse reactions have alredy appeared.Objective: to describe methylphenidate use in a children population users of public health system of Montevideo.Methodology: children between 6 and 14 years old who obtain methylphenidate from Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell (CHPR) and Hospital Vilardebó (HV) pharmacies bewteen september and december 2006 were identified and included in the study. Sample was calculated taking into account number of children assisted by ASSE in Montevideo and estimated frequency of ADHD (5%). Sample size calculated was 114 (IC95%; imprecision 3%). Telephone interviews were done to children’s parents and/or tutors to ask about: indication, prescription, adverse reactions, and therapeutics benefits. Quality of prescription was evaluated using the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations published in 2001.Results: 124 interviews were done. Mean age was 10 years old; 77% were male. 93,5% (n=116) met criteria of DSM IV for ADHD diagnosis. Mean dose was 12,9 mg. 64,5% of children received methylphenidate once daily , 27,4% twice daily, 5,6% three times daily and one child four times daily. 85,5% received methylphenidate before go to school. 84,6% of parents referred therapeutics benefits, 56% of these ones were receiving another psychotropic medication. 59,7% refered one or more posible adverse reactions. More frequents adverse reactions weree headache (29%), anorexia (25%) and abdominal pain (24,2%). ...