Many reasons for multiple medications
“The researchers put in a lot of effort to provide data on a large scale,” Herschel Lessin, MD, of Children’s Medical Group, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said in an interview.
“The findings illustrate the reality that autistic children are prescribed a lot of medications for a lot of reasons, some of which are not entirely clear,” Dr. Lessin said. The study also reflects the chronic lack of behavioral health services for children, he noted. Many children with ASD are referred for services they are unable to access, he said. “As a result, they see doctors who can only prescribe medications to try to control behavior or symptoms for which the cause is unclear,” and which could be ASD or other comorbidities, he emphasized.
The large sample size strengthens the study findings, but some of the challenges include the use of claims data, which do not indicate how diagnoses were made, said Dr. Lessin. An additional limitation is the fact that many medications for children with autism are used off label, so the specific reason for their use may be unknown, he said.
The take-home message for clinicians is that children with ASD are getting a lot of medications, and pediatricians are not usually responsible for multiple medications,” Dr. Lessin said. Ultimately, the study is “a plea for more research,” to tease out details of what medications are indicated and helpful, he said.
The study received no outside funding. The researchers and Dr. Lessin had no financial conflicts to disclose. Dr. Lessin serves on the Pediatric News editorial advisory board.