Abstract

PALACIO, Juan David; DE LA PENA-OLVERA, Francisco; PALACIOS-CRUZ, Lino  and  ORTIZ-LEON, Silvia. Latin American Multimodal Treatment Algorithm for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) throughout Life. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2009, vol.38, suppl.1, pp.35-65. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: The first Latin-American Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) pharmacological treatment algorithms were published in 2007. Since then, new studies have appeared, not only on drug therapy, but also on psychosocial management strategies. Objective: To review the literature on ADHD psychosocial and pharmacological treatment throughout: pre-school children, school children, adolescents and adults. Method: A team of Latin-American ADHD expert clinicians updated the four treatment algorithms and constructed the decision trees, based on the most recent literature. Results: There is enough scientific evidence to propose two branches for each decision tree, one with the psychosocial management and the other with the drug treatment. The first branch is headed by psycho-education followed by other measures such as: management training for parents, behavioral intervention in classroom, and cognitive behavioral therapy; depending on the patient's age. The second branch is generally headed by methylphenidate, followed by amphetamines or atomoxetine. Conclusions: Psychosocial and pharmacological interventions were distributed on the decisions trees according to the level of scientific evidence. ADHD treatment should be multimodal, and the concurrent and rational use of psychosocial and drug therapies is recommended.

Keywords : Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity; consensus development conference; therapy; Latin America.

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