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. 2018 Apr;63(4):240-249.
doi: 10.1177/0706743717751693. Epub 2018 Mar 11.

Patient, Treatment, and Health Care Utilization Variables Associated with Adherence to Metabolic Monitoring Practices in Children and Adolescents Taking Second-Generation Antipsychotics

Mary Coughlin  1 , Catherine Lindsay Goldie  1 , Joan Tranmer  1 , Sarosh Khalid-Khan  2 , Deborah Tregunno  1
Affiliations

Patient, Treatment, and Health Care Utilization Variables Associated with Adherence to Metabolic Monitoring Practices in Children and Adolescents Taking Second-Generation Antipsychotics

Mary Coughlin et al. Can J Psychiatry. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Children and adolescents with a range of psychiatric disorders are increasingly being prescribed atypical or second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). While SGAs are effective at treating conduct and behavioural symptoms, they infer significant cardiometabolic risk. This study aims to explore what patient, treatment, and health care utilization variables are associated with adherence to Canadian Alliance for Monitoring Effectiveness and Safety of Antipsychotics in Children (CAMESA) metabolic monitoring guidelines.

Method: A retrospective chart review of 294 children and adolescents accessing a large outpatient psychiatry setting within a 2-year study period (2014-2016) was conducted. Baseline and follow-up metabolic monitoring, demographic, treatment, and health care utilization variables were then assessed over a 1-year period of interest.

Results: Metabolic monitoring practices did not adhere to CAMESA guidelines and were very poor over the 1-year observation period. There were significant differences between children (ages 4-12 years, n = 99) and adolescents (ages 13-18 years, n = 195). In adolescents, factors associated with any baseline metabolic monitoring were a higher number of psychiatry visits (odds ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 1.41), longer duration of contact (OR, 14; 95% CI, 2.31 to 82.4), and use of other non-SGA medications (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.17 to 8.94). Among children, having an emergency room visit (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.01 to 11.71) and taking aripiprazole (OR, 7.4; 95% CI, 2.02 to 27.45) increased the odds of receiving baseline metabolic monitoring.

Conclusion: Findings from this study highlight the need for better metabolic monitoring for children and adolescents taking SGAs. Enhanced focus on opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration is needed to improve the quality of care offered to this population.

Keywords: antipsychotic agents; child psychiatry; drug monitoring; evidence-based practice; guideline adherence; metabolic side effects of drugs and substances; patient safety.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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