National trends in the community prescribing of second-generation antipsychotic medications in Australian children and youth: the incomplete story

Objective: The objective of this article is to examine national trends in prescribing second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) medications to Australian children and youth (0-24 years) and to report deficiencies in available data. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of government data on all dispensed SGA prescriptions between 2002 and 2007. Scripts were converted to defined daily dose (DDD)/1000 population/day using census data. Trends in utilisation of dispensed SGAs were analysed by gender and age. Results: The total amount of SGAs dispensed to children (0-14 years) remained stable over the five-year study period. In 2007, according to available data, total SGA medication dispensed to Australian children equated to fewer than three in 10,000 children receiving the equivalent of a standard adult dose of medication each day. Conclusions: In contrast to many other countries, the dispensed use of SGA medication in Australian children and youth has remained relatively stable. In our opinion, this is almost certainly because of limitations in data collection and accessibility. Given the safety concerns associated with SGAs prescribed to children and young people and the need to improve the quality use of medicines, it is essential that methods are developed in Australia to accurately capture prescribing of SGAs to Australian children and youth.