Pharmacotherapy and child psychiatry: Is there a way forward?
James A.
Recent controversy over the use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in children and adolescents has focused attention on the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of young people. Failure of pharmaceutical companies to fully disclose negative outcome trials has led to new guidelines for publication of all trial results. Scrutiny is on the conduct of trials and the relationship of the pharmaceutical industry with prescribing doctors and posttrial surveillance of new drugs. It is argued that drug treatments in child psychiatry are a powerful therapeutic tool but vigilance is needed to ensure that data on the efficacy and safety of drugs are freely available.