Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22548111›Full record

ArticleJournal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent2012

Review of the pharmacotherapy of irritability of autism.

Dean Elbe, Zaahira Lalani

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Drug-refractory irritability and related factors in autistic children.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2024
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Clonidine as a Treatment of Behavioural Disturbances in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2020
    Article
  10. Article
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  13. Building a Definition of Irritability From Academic Definitions and Lay Descriptions.Emotion review : journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion · 2016
    Article
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  15. Review
  16. Amantadine: a review of use in child and adolescent psychiatry.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2013
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Dean ElbeChildren's and Women's Mental Health Programs, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Zaahira Lalani
Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo review the randomized controlled trial data regarding pharmacotherapy of irritability of autism.

methodA LITERATURE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED USING THE MEDLINE SEARCH TERMS: 'autism' OR 'autism spectrum disorder' with the following limits: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), human trials, English language. Additional articles were identified from reference information. Trials involving nutritional supplements, hormones or drugs not approved by either Health Canada or the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were excluded from analysis.

resultsTwenty-three RCTs that met criteria were identified. The greatest number of RCTs involved risperidone, with six of seven placebo-controlled risperidone trials reporting statistically significant improvements on the primary outcome measure. Two aripiprazole RCTs and one olanzapine RCT reported statistically significant improvement in primary outcome measures. Haloperidol was superior to both clomipramine and placebo in a head-to-head crossover trial, while risperidone was superior to haloperidol for treatment of behavioural symptoms in a separate head-to-head trial. Clonidine, methylphenidate, valproate and levocarnitine monotherapy were superior to placebo in single RCTs, while adjunctive treatments cyproheptadine, pentoxifylline and topiramate were superior to placebo in small studies when given in combination with an antipsychotic. Adverse events from RCTs were summarized, including weight gain and metabolic effects, if available.

conclusionThe bulk of positive RCT evidence for the pharmacotherapy of irritability of autism pertains to FDA approved antipsychotics risperidone and aripiprazole. RCTs supporting efficacy of several alternative and adjunctive agents may afford additional treatment options when optimal antipsychotic doses fail to control symptoms or cause intolerable adverse effects. Behavioural therapy should be employed where possible either before, or in addition to pharmacotherapy.

Indexed as

antipsychoticautismirritabilitypharmacotherapy

Identifiers

PMID22548111
PMCPMC3338180
OpenAlexW10102445

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.