Psychotropic medication use and polypharmacy in children with autism spectrum disorders.

摘要

Objective The objectives of this study were to examine rates and predictors of psychotropic use and multiclass polypharmacy among commercially insured children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods This retrospective observational study used administrative medical and pharmacy claims data linked with health plan enrolment and sociodemographic information from 2001 to 2009. Children with ASD were identified by using a validated ASD case algorithm. Psychotropic polypharmacy was defined as concurrent medication fills across >=2 classes for at least 30 days. Multinomial logistic regression was used to model 5 categories of psychotropic use and multiclass polypharmacy.