Your Instructor will assign a specific disorder for you to research for this Assignment. Use the Walden Library to research evidence-based treatments for your assigned disorder in children and adolescents. You will need to recommend one FDA-approved drug, one off-label drug, and one nonpharmacological intervention for treating this disorder in children and adolescents.

Prescribing for Children and Adolescents-Panic Disorder

Benzodiazepines such as diazepam are FDA-approved for treating panic disorders in children and adolescents (Bounds & Nelson, 202). Diazepam is preferred since it is readily available in several generic brands and has a longer duration of action (Dhaliwal et al., 2022). Diazepam is best used in conjunction with non-pharmacological interventions such as psychotherapy in children and adolescents. Patients on diazepam must be frequently monitored for dose adjustments and tapering to avoid adverse side effects. Prescription of diazepam without regular non-pharmacological interventions is non-beneficial.

Selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) are the antidepressant of choice used to treat panic disorders in children and adolescents (Cackovic et al., 2022). SSRIs such as fluoxetine are not FDA-approved for children and adolescents. SSRIs are preferred over the other classes of antidepressants because they have fewer adverse side effects, improving patient compliance. Antidepressants such as tricyclic antidepressants cause arrhythmias, which do not occur with SSRIs. The risk of using SSRIs in children and adolescents is suicide ideation (Chu & Wadhwa, 2022). Physicians who prescribe SSRIs for off-label use must weigh the risk of suicidal ideation versus the benefits of SSRIs. The physician must inform the parents, caregiver, or guardian of the child or adolescent’s risks and the need to monitor the patient for behavioral changes.

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Behavioral therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention used to treat panic disorder in children and adolescents. Behavioral techniques include relaxation exercises, deep breathing, contingency management, desensitization programs, and adaptive modeling (Chand et al., 2022). These techniques are more beneficial to the patient with parental involvement. When prescribing drugs for panic disorders in children and adolescents, I would consider the patient’s history, risks, and side effects versus the benefits associated with the available drugs and accessible non-pharmacological interventions. The patient’s weight and age must be considered when prescribing the dosage and duration of therapy.

References

Bounds, C.G., & Nelson, V.L. (2021). Benzodiazepines. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470159/

Cackovic, C., Nazir S., & Marwaha, R. (2022). Panic Disorder. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430973/

Chand, S.P., Kuckel, D.P., & Huecker, M.R. (2022). Cognitive Behavior Therapy. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470241/