Imperial College London
Portrait Picture

Professor Shoumitro (Shoumi) Deb

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences

Visiting Professor
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 3313 4161s.deb CV

 
 
//

Location

 

Commonwealth BuildingHammersmith Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@inbook{Bertelli:2022,
author = {Bertelli, M and Deb, S and Bianco, A},
booktitle = {Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.},
editor = {Matson and Sturmey},
pages = {1121--1138},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland AG.},
title = {Rational prescription of psychotropic medications.},
year = {2022}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - CHAP
AB  - Psychotropic medications, such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabiliser, anti-anxiety/benzodiazepines etc., are used frequently in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They are used for ASD core symptoms; associated symptoms, such as sleep disorders; co-morbid psychiatric disorders; and, problem behaviors. Whereas the indication for their use for various psychiatric disorders is relatively clear, the rationale for their use for problem behavior in the absence of a diagnosed psychiatric disorder is less clear because  of poor evidence base to support their use in these circumstances. National  and international good practice guidelines recommend non-pharmacological interventions for problem behavior as the first line of intervention although the  use of psychotropic medication may be justified when the risk to the person  or others is very high or only for a short period of time at a minimum possible  dose as long as regular reviews are conducted with the view to withdrawing  them as soon as possible. Medication-related adverse effects may be more  pronounced in this population and the risk of drug–drug interaction is high  because of use of polypharmacy of psychotropic medications and frequent use  of medication for physical disorders. It is also difficult to detect adverse effects because of communication difficulties experienced by people with ASD. The lack of capacity to give informed consent for the treatment also raises ethical issues. Where possible reasonable adjustments, such as use of accessible information, should be used to help with the consent process. Both family and paid caregivers should discuss the treatment options with other involved professionals keeping the best interests of the person in mind.
AU  - Bertelli,M
AU  - Deb,S
AU  - Bianco,A
EP  - 1138
PB  - Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY  - 2022///
SP  - 1121
TI  - Rational prescription of psychotropic medications.
T1  - Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.
ER  -
Download