01-05-2013 | Brief Report
Brief Report: Retrospective Case Series of Oxcarbazepine for Irritability/Agitation Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | Uitgave 5/2013
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We examined response to oxcarbazepine prescribed for irritability/agitation symptoms in a retrospective case series of 30 patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The average patient was 12.0 years old (range 5–21) and taking two other psychotropic medications (range 0–4). Fourteen patients (47 %) had a clinical global impression of improvement score of ‘much improved’ during treatment. Ten patients (33 %) showed an improvement on their clinical global impression of severity score. Seven patients (23 %) had a clinically significant adverse event or side effect leading to oxcarbazepine discontinuation. Without a placebo group, it is not possible to evaluate whether oxcarbazepine provides benefit for irritability/agitation symptoms in ASD. The high rate of adverse events suggests its use should be accompanied by caution.