• Sara Minghetti, Martina Vannini, Laura Casula, Martina Asprea, Sara Gori, Anna Maria Calvani, and Tiziana Pisano.
• From the Child Neurology and Psychiatry Department, Children's Hospital A. Meyer, Florence.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022 Nov 1; 38 (11): e1660-e1663.

ObjectiveThe study used an epidemiological and pharmacological description of child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies (CAPEs), during which psychotropic medications are frequently administered as off-label therapies.MethodsWe retrospectively describe CAPE in 190 patients (mean age, 14.7 years) referring in the emergency department of a single tertiary center, from June 2016 to June 2018, focusing on off-label administration rate, most of all in emergency setting.ResultsAn intrinsic fragility was observed in this population, where 28.4% of patients present a history of self-harm, 24.7% a concomitant neurodevelopmental disorder, and 17.3% a history of substance abuse. Psychomotor agitation was the most frequent referral reason, and it represents an unspecified clinical presentation of several conditions, while self-harm showed a stronger association with depressive disorders (55.2%).Globally, 811 medications were administered both as baseline therapy (67.8% of off-label rate) and/or in the emergency setting, where the off-label rate raised to 78.3%. Benzodiazepines had the highest rate of off-label use (98.2% as baseline therapy, 92.9% in acute context). Nevertheless, in 83.5% cases of acute administrations, a singular oral benzodiazepine (mostly lorazepam) guaranteed psychomotor agitation resolution, with a lower rate of adverse effects in contrast with atypical antipsychotics.ConclusionsOff-label drug use in CAPEs is a recurrent clinical practice. An international agreement about off-label drugs is crucial to obtain standard long-term pharmacoepidemiological, safety, and efficacy data. Pharmacological pediatric trials and international guidelines are also required to regulate pharmacological treatments of CAPEs, most of all in emergency settings.Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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