system
Is Abilify advisable for a 10 year old child?
human
I am a school psychologist and have seen a significant increase in children being prescribed Abilify in the past 2 months. Diagnosis range in age 5-13 with either ADHD, bipolar, or anxiety and often by a family nurse practioner. Is this common? Are there studies supporting this drug in children under age 10?Thank you for your time
gpt
hi sir /madam,welcome to health care magic ,I can certainly understand your concern about abilify prescription in children,as some studies say that it is effectively prescribed in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in children, as it is also FDA Approved in them. Definitely it has some Side Effects like tardive dyskinesia but this is the tricky situation that the psychiatrist has to be dealt with. Apart from  side effects, it has some specific  advantages like long half life, once daily dosing is enough significant sedating effects , prolactin sparing when compared to other atypical antipsychotics made it superior in specific situations I can explain you that this tricky situation can be dealt with slow and gradual titration of the dosage that is starting with the initial dose of 2 mg and gradually tapering to the target dose so if these guidelines are followed safely  it can be prescribed in children of this age group, and its usuage also depends on risk benefit ratio in this age groupplease post your further questions if any, i will always be available to answer themThank you.