Psychotropic medication history of inpatient adolescents — Is there a rationale for benzodiazepine prescription?

We evaluated the pre-hospitalization psychotropic medication of adolescents with different psychiatric disorders, and examined possible differences in medication history in relation to lifetime psychiatric diagnoses of study subjects. The study sample consisted of 300 girls and 208 boys (age 12–17) admitted to psychiatric inpatient hospital between April 2001 and March 2006. The information on drug therapy history and psychiatric diagnoses were obtained from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children-Present and Lifetime (K-SADS-PL). Adolescents with drug use disorders had elevated rates of pre-hospitalization prescribed benzodiazepines (BZDs). Antidepressants and antipsychotics were mainly used by depressed and psychotic adolescents. Previously prescribed BZD medication was associated with 3-fold increased rates of sedative abuse or dependence. Girls had been prescribed antidepressants and BZDs statistically significantly more commonly than boys. The results of our study underline the importance of careful consideration of the use of benzodiazepines, especially in the outpatient treatment of adolescents.

Research Highlights
► Psychotropic medication is common among adolescents before psychiatric admission.
► Girls had used more commonly antidepressants and sedatives compared boys.
► The importance of carefulness when prescribing BZSs to adolescents was highlighted.