Drug-induced movement disorders in children

Abstract

This article reviews the current state of knowledge of drug-induced movement disorders (DIMDs) in children. The objective is to aid clinicians who treat children with medications that may induce DIMDs, as well as specialists consulted on DIMDs. As with adults, the most common agents are dopaminergic and dopamine-blocking medications, and prescriptions for these agents have increased markedly in children. Unfortunately, most evidence-based reviews, including those from the Cochrane Collaboration cited here, have few systematic data to analyze. Many publications are small case series. This report attempts to provide useful information, with appropriate caution and discussion of the limitations of what we know.