What were the impacts of the Committee on Safety of Medicines warning and publication of the NICE guidelines on trends in child and adolescent antidepressant prescribing in primary care? A population based study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of both the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) warning (December 2003) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance (September 2005) on antidepressant prescription rates in children and adolescents within the UK primary care service. SETTING: Population based study of primary care antidepressant prescribing using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). PARTICIPANTS: Under-18s presenting to primary care with a depressive disorder or related diagnostic code recorded in the CPRD. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Antidepressant prescription rates per month per 100 000 depressed 4-17 year olds. RESULTS: Following the CSM warning, the prior trend towards increased prescribing rates for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in children was significantly reversed (ß for change in trend -12.34 (95% CI -18.67 to -6.00, p<0.001)). However, after the publication of the NICE guidelines the prior trend towards increased prescribing resumed for those SSRIs mentioned as potential treatments in the guidance (fluoxetine, citalopram and sertraline) (ß for change in trend 11.52 (95% CI 5.32 to 17.73, p<0.001)). Prescribing of other SSRIs and tricyclics remained low. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a strong emphasis on psychosocial interventions for child and adolescent depression, it may be that the NICE guidelines inadvertently encouraged further antidepressant prescribing, at least for those SSRIs cited. Although the guidelines gave cautions and caveats for the use of antidepressants, practitioners may have interpreted these recommendations as endorsing their use in young people with depression and related conditions. However, more accurate prevalence trend estimates for depression in this age group, and information on the use of psychosocial interventions would be needed to rule out other reasons underlying this increase in prescribing.

Attitudes and knowledge of child and adolescent mental health clinicians in relation to the psychosis risk syndrome.

AIM: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of clinicians in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in relation to the 'At-Risk Mental State' concept in psychosis. METHODS: A questionnaire was constructed and administered to child and adolescent mental health clinicians working in North East England. RESULTS: Sixty-seven per cent (n=121) of eligible clinicians responded. Almost all the participants believed that young people 'At-Risk' needed support. However, only around half felt confident in identifying this patient group. Approximately a third felt that antipsychotic medication may be useful. Some interprofessional differences were noted in relation to both knowledge and attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Further training would be required for most health workers in this sample to feel confident in identifying the syndrome. These findings require replication in other service settings and may have implications for the implementation of a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, diagnostic category relating to the At-Risk Mental State.