Overview of the drugs used by children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who are covered by the Public Prescription Drug Insurance Plan

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or, according to the old terminology, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), cannot be treated with any specific drug therapy, certain drugs are sometimes used to treat children and adolescents with these disorders for comorbidities or associated problems. However, to our knowledge, few publications have reported the results of studies assessing the use of drugs among populations of children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD or PDD. Finally, many practitioners themselves admit they have very little information on this subject.

The overall objective of this study was to document the use of drugs among Quebec children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD who were covered by the Public Prescription Drug Insurance Plan (PPDIP) during the year 2010, and then verify whether these children and adolescents used some of the drug therapies presented in the systematic review upon which the current study is based.

Although there are limits associated with the use of databases administered by the RAMQ, the data gathered will provide practitioners with an overview of the situation and help them situate their practice in relation to these results.

This study will be followed by a notice on the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions and drug treatments for children aged 2 to 12 diagnosed with ASD.