Treatment Guidelines for Children and Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder: Child Psychiatric Workgroup on Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Clinicians who treat children and adolescents with bipolar disorder desperately need current treatment guidelines. These guidelines were developed by expert consensus and a review of the extant literature about the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric bipolar disorders. The four sections of these guidelines include diagnosis, comorbidity, acute treatment, andmain-tenance treatment. These guidelines are not intended to serve as an absolute standard of medical or psychological care but rather to serve as clinically useful guidelines for evaluation and treatment that can be used in the care of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder. These guidelines are subject to change as our evidence base increases and practice patterns evolve. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2005;44(3):213–235. KeyWords: bipolar, treatment guidelines, consensus, mood stabilizer, atypical antipsychotic These treatment guidelines arose out of a need first voiced by members of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF), who noted that clinicians who treat children and adolescents with bipolar disorders (BPDs) are in desperate need of guidelines regarding how to best treat these patients. In July 2003, a group