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Review
. 2016 Mar 24;18(2):10.4088/PCC.15br01893.
doi: 10.4088/PCC.15br01893. eCollection 2016.

Irritability in Pediatric Patients: Normal or Not?

Usman Hameed  1 , Cheryl A Dellasega  2
Affiliations
Review

Irritability in Pediatric Patients: Normal or Not?

Usman Hameed et al. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. .

Abstract

The goal of this article is to describe the concept of irritability in children and youth, which has been revisited in the DSM-5. Traditionally, this behavior has been more commonly associated with mood disorders, which may account for the rising incidence of bipolar disorder diagnosis and overuse of mood-stabilizing medications in pediatric patients. While not predictive of mania, persistent nonepisodic irritability, if undetected, may escalate to violent behavior with potentially serious outcomes. It is therefore important to educate clinicians about how to accurately assess irritability in pediatric patients.

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