Practitioner's Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents / Edition 2

by John Scott Werry, Michael G. Aman

Overview

Incorporating the latest developments in pharmacology and therapy, this fully revised Second Edition is an ideal quick reference for those who prescribe psychotrophic drugs for young people. New and notable features include:

• discussions of new drugs and health supplements;
• revised diagnostic terminology that accords with current DSM-IV nomenclature;
• reports on anti-epileptic medications;
• guidelines for the appropriate use of psychoactive medications;
• and instruction on the monitoring of physical, behavioral, and cognitive effects of various drugs.
The handy spiral format makes the book easy to use.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306458859
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	10/31/1998
Series:	Sciences; 300
Edition description:	2nd ed. 1999
Pages:	502
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(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

General Principles: Introduction: A Guide for Practitioners, Professionals, and Public ; J.S. Werry. Pharmacology; J.W. Paxton. Prevalence of Drug Therapy; K.D. Gadow. Monitoring and Measuring Drug Effects, I: Physical Effects; A.J. Zametkin. Monitoring and Measuring Drug Effects, II: Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive Effects; M.G. Aman. Medicological and Ethical Issues in the Pharmacological Treatment of Children; R. Schouten. Disorders, Symptoms, and Their Pharmacotherapy; B. Geller. Specific Drugs: Stimulants; R. Barkley. Antidepressants and Antimanics Drugs; E. Weller. Antipsychotics (Neuroleptics); M. Campbell. Drugs of Abuse; A. Unis, J. McClellan. Antiepileptics (Anticonvulsants); R. Carpenter, E. Vining. Psychoactive Effects of Medical Drugs; B. Waters. Nootropics and Foods; Y. Conners. Anxiolytics, Sedatives, and Miscellaneous Drugs; M.G. Aman, J.S. Werry. Appendixes: Major Psychoactive Medications Grouped by Drug Class. Major Psychoactive Medications Ordered by Trade Name. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Tina M. Mattera, MD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This is the second edition of a book on psychoactive drugs for children. The first edition was published in 1993.
Purpose: The editors' goal is to make psychopharmacology and its indications as intelligible to as large an audience as possible.
Audience: This book is intended for an array of professionals and advanced students in child psychiatry, pediatrics, neurology, psychology, nursing, social work, and education, as well as for parents and caregivers.
Features: It is organized by drug groups rather than by diagnosis. All of the contributors are credible and they provide conclusions, in their respective chapters, for clinical use of medications based on their knowledge of the relevant research. The material provided ranges from basic pharmacokinetics to medicolegal and ethical issues of treatment, covering all of the drug classes and their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive effects. There is a brief chapter on psychiatric disorders and their indications for psychopharmacology.
Assessment: As new psychopharmacological agents with novel features have been introduced since the publication of the first edition, an updated edition of this book was required. The second edition includes information on drug combination and overdose which have been added to each drug chapter. This is a notable improvement over the first edition. This is an excellent resource for all practitioners in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.

Doody's Review Service

about the first edition:
‘An excellent, very accessible handbook, written and edited by major authorities in the area of pediatric psychopharmacology.'
Doody's Health Science Book Review Journal
‘Well summarized and referenced ... excellent.'
American Journal of Psychiatry
‘ Thorough, entirely up-to-date, balanced and humane ... an excellent source of information ... should become the standard.'
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
‘An easy reference for treating difficult or infrequently seen cases.'
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

‘The book is clearly written. The style is confident, ‘punchy', and surprisingly uniform for a multi-author book, which indicates good editing. I believe the book is best used as a ‘ready reference'. The consistent format across chapters, abundant subheadings and concise prose mean that it does not take long for the reader to find what he or she is looking for. ... this book can be confidently recommended to all health professionals who prescribe psychotropics to young people: child psychiatrists and child psychiatry trainees, ‘behavioral paediatricians', general psychiatrists whose practice may include youngs persons, and many general practitioners. All medical libraries and pharmacies should also have a copy.'
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 33:6 (1996)

From the Publisher

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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