Treatment of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Although once pediatric bipolar disorder had been perceived as a very rarely seen psychiatric disorder, studies conducted within the last two decades revealed that this disorder is more often than assumed. Childhood and adolescent onset bipolar disorder causes and leads serious familial and academic disturbances, more frequent subtance use, precarios sexual intercourses, adolescent pregnancy and tendency to delinquency. Lifelong functionality is worse than adult onset. It could be more difficult to be diagnosed and could take longer time period for the diagnosis than adult onset. Difficulties of compliance to treatment can be seen more frequently because of the behavioural age characteristics of this group. Diagnostic controversies about the pediatric bipolar disorder also led disagreement about the treatment. In this review treatment approaches in the child and adolescent onset bipolar disorder have been discussed. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2014; 6(2.000): 92-106]

Keywords

• Pediatric bipolar disorder
• mood stabilizers
• antipsychotics