PEDIATRICS Vol. 55 No. 4 April 1975, pp. 560-562
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Medication for Hyperkinetic Children

Robert B. Kugel M.D., Robert G. Scherz M.D., Henry M. Seidel M.D., Jean L. McMahon M.D., Andrew Rinker M.D., Dale C. Garell M.D., David W. Van Gelder M.D., Effie O. Ellis M.D.1, Sarah H. Knutti M.D.2, and John R. Poncher M.D.

1 American Medical Associatiom, Liaison Representative
2 National Institute of Child Health and Development, NIH, Liaison Representative

One must be cognizant of the fact that there is probably more confusion in relation to diagnosis and appropriate criteria for the use of medication for the treatment of hyperkinetic children than there is regarding the choice of medication. Many physicians, as well as the general public, do not truly appreciate the differential diagnosis of the overactive child. The symptoms may be an expression of basic personality, anxiety, subclinical seizure disorders, strictly in the eyes of the beholder, or true hyperkinesis; the latter is the only condition in which stimulants might be expected to be beneficial.

The use of drug therapy in the management of the hyperkinetic child does not differ appreciably from drug therapy in other treatable maladies. In both instances prescription drugs should be prescribed only by appropriately licensed physicians. Although the screening of patients may frequently be done by other disciplines, the ultimate selection of patients remains the responsibility of the prescribing physician. Rarely is hyperkinesis an isolated symptom. Hopefully, the selection of the drug to be used is based on such factors as history and physical examinations with appropriate emphases and the weighing of risks (that is, the ramifications of the untreated patient versus side effects and long-term sequelae of medication). A satisfactory means of evaluating the effects of therapy and periodic reevaluations (follow-up) should be included.

Whatever the diagnostic nomenclature, the "indications" depend largely on clinical acumen rather than pathognomonic findings. There is some agreement about the indications for the clinical use of stimulant drugs for hyperkinetic children even though there must be a trial on the medication before its efficacy can be determined for a particular child.