Methods:Retrospective chart review of all inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder diagnosis, treated in Children's Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia from September 2008 till September 2011.
Results:We identified 126 admissions (F/M ratio - 1,5; mean age - 13,83 (SD 2,69) years), 32 being first-admissions. Most frequent diagnoses were juvenile-onset (34,1%) and paranoid (23.8%) schizophrenia. in 91,3% cases patients received antipsychotic therapy (28,6% only AAPs, 11,9% only typical antipsychotics (TAPs), 50,8% a combination of both). Most widely used AAPs were Quetiapine - 34,9%, Risperidone - 26,2%, Olanzapine - 19,8% and Aripiprazole - 15,9%. Haloperidol was still used in 49,2% cases. in 58,7% cases patients also received anticholinergic medication, so reports of extrapyramidal side effects were anecdotal. in 31,0% cases (9 patients on AAPs, 30 on combined treatment) there was a significant (>400 mU/L) increase of serum prolactin level. in 15,9% cases there was a significant (>450 ms) elongation of QTc interval.
Conclusions:AAPs are rapidly substituting TAPs as the firsthand treatment for children with schizophrenic psychoses, but the rate of side effects is significant, with as much as 1/3 of those receiving AAPs developing hyperprolactinaemia, and 1/5 - a prolongation of QTc interval.