Practitioner's Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents / Edition 1

by John S. Werry, Michael G. Aman

Overview

information. This book aims to do this for practitioners, professionals in health, welfare, and education, and interested laypersons, including parents. This is no easy task, since the levels of technical knowledge vary from that of the special education teacher seeking information about the drugs that many such pupils will be receiving, to that of the modern young child and adolescent psychiatrist whose grasp of the difficult fields of pharmacokinetics (how drugs are absorbed, distributed, and eliminated) and neurotransmitter physiology (via which most psychoactive drugs work) is daunting to the editors, who grew up in the bucolic clinical-empirical era. Inevitably there are sections of the book that will prove too technical for any except the medically qualified, but considerable effort has been applied to make much of the text, especially that discussing the clinical uses and side effects of the drugs, comprehensible to anyone used to getting information by reading. We also take comfort in the fact that many of the major contributions in pediatric psychophar­ macology have been made by nonmedical professionals, notably psychologists, suggesting that an audience beyond the medically qualified is practicable. One other problem confronted us-whether to organize the book by psycho­ pathological symptoms (e.g., hyperactivity) and disorders (e.g., autism) or by drugs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306443893
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	04/01/1993
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1993
Pages:	440
Product dimensions:	0.00(w) x 0.00(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

Werry, John S., MD (Univ of Auckland); Aman, Michael G., PhD (Ohio State Univ)

The contributors represent the specialties of psychiatry, pediatrics, neurology, psychology, and pharmacology. Most come from academic medical centers in the U.S., with 2 from Australia, and 2 from New Zealand. Institutions prominently represented include the NIH, Johns Hopkins, Univ of Massachusetts, NYU, Washington Univ, Ohio State Univ, and Harvard.

Table of Contents

I. General Principles.- 1.Introduction: A Guide for Practitioners, Professionals, and Public.- 2. Pharmacology.- 3. Prevalence of Drug Therapy.- 4. Monitoring and Measuring Drug Effects. I. Physical Effects.- 5. Monitoring and Measuring Drug Effects. II. Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive Effects.- 6. Medicolegal and Ethical Issues in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Children.- 7. Disorders, Symptoms, and Their Pharmacotherapy.- II. Specific Drugs.- 8. Stimulants.- 9. Antidysthymic Drugs (Antidepressants and Antimanics).- 10. Antipsychotics (Neuroleptics).- 11. Drugs of Abuse.- 12. Antiepileptics (Anticonvulsants).- 13. Psychoactive Effects of Medical Drugs.- 14. Nootropics and Foods.- 15. Anxiolytics, Sedatives, and Miscellaneous Drugs.- Appendix A Major Psychoactive Medications Grouped by Drug Class.- Appendix B Major Psychoactive Medications Ordered by Trade Name.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Margery R. Johnson, MD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This is a handbook of psychoactive drug use in the pediatric age group written by a large number of significant authorities in the field.
Purpose: It serves as an easy-reference guide to all such drugs currently in use in the U.S. for treatment of children and adolescents with mood disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, and other less common conditions.
Audience: This book is primarily written for child psychiatrists and pediatricians, but it is also a good reference for psychologists, special educators, parents, and others caring for children who are being treated with psychoactive medications.
Features: The table of contents is essentially a detailed outline of the book, making it very easy to find specific information. The material is cross-referenced so that you can start with either the disorder being treated or the class of drugs being used. The tables are very useful for checking doses or comparing similar drugs so that the clinician is given information useful in choosing a particular drug or assessing side effects. It also gives a helpful overview of rating scales and other instrumentsthat are hel pful in monitoring a child's response to drug treatment.
Assessment: This is an excellent, very accessible handbook, written and edited by major authorities in the area of pediatric psychopharmacology. It covers a lot of ground but does not go into great depth, thus making it a handy reference. There are numerous references helpful to someone who does wish to go into more depth on a specific issue. It would be a useful addition to the library of anyone prescribing psychoactive drugs to children.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody

Summarizes current knowledge, each chapter focusing on a drug's pharmacology, clinical effects, side effects and toxicity, and indications and contraindications. Drug chapters are complemented by sections that examine principles of prescribing, assessment methods, prescription patterns, monitoring, and legal and ethical guidelines. Spiral bound. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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