Clonidine has been used off-label in children and adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) with or without comorbidities. Clonidine extended-release was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for ADHD in children. This review evaluates the efficacy and safety of clonidine extended-release and clonidine in children and adolescents with ADHD. A search of the Medline database and clinical trials register from 1996–2011 yielded ten clinical trials for critical evaluation of efficacy and safety. Eight of the ten trials reviewed were double-blinded and placebo-controlled. Nine of the ten trials utilized multiple outcome measures. Both clonidine extended-release and clonidine, as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy, were reported to be efficacious in treating ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents with or without comorbid disorders in nine of the ten clinical trials. One study showed clonidine to be ineffective in improving performance of a single task, at a specific point in time, in a small number of subjects. All of the studies that evaluated safety reported clonidine and clonidine extended-release to be well tolerated. The side effects of clonidine included somnolence, fatigue, headache, bradycardia, hypotension, and clinically insignificant electrocardiographic changes. However, there are historical anecdotal reports of serious cardiac side effects, including death in cases with other risk factors. None of the studies compared clonidine extended-release with clonidine in subjects with ADHD. Therefore, it is not clear whether clonidine extended-release is advantageous over clonidine, with regard to either efficacy or safety. It is equally unclear whether clonidine or clonidine extended-release is more efficacious in treating ADHD in subjects with comorbid disorders than in those without comorbidities. All the studies reviewed had limitations in their designs and methods. Clonidine and clonidine extended-release could be efficacious and safe for the treatment of ADHD both as monotherapy and as adjunctive therapy with stimulant medications in selected patients. There is a need for clinical trials to determine the long-term efficacy and safety of treatment with clonidine and clonidine extended-release in patients with ADHD.

A survey of sleep schedules, sleep health, and the impact on school performance was conducted in 585 adolescents in a high school in China. A high level of early and circadian-disadvantaged sleep/wake schedules during weekdays was observed. Significantly shorter sleep duration on weekdays was reported (P < 0.0001). Older teenagers slept significantly less than the younger teenagers (P < 0.0001). Complaints of inadequate sleep and sleepiness during weekdays were prevalent. Night awakenings were reported in 32.2% of students. Students with a sleep length of less than 7 hours, complaint of inadequate sleep, or excessive daytime sleepiness during weekdays were more likely to report an adverse effect of poor sleep on performance. The present observations are qualitatively similar to those reported in our study in American adolescents, particularly with respect to Chinese adolescents exhibiting a similar sleep deficiency on weekdays. We concluded that sleep deficiency and sleep health problems were prevalent in the participating adolescents in China, and were perceived to adversely affect school performance.

Intermittent vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can reduce the frequency of seizures in patients with refractory epilepsy, but can affect respiration in sleep. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can worsen seizure frequency. Unfortunately, OSA and VNS-induced sleep disordered breathing (SDB) may occur in the same patient, leading to a therapeutic dilemma. We report a pediatric patient in whom OSA improved after tonsillectomy, but coexistent VNS-induced SDB persisted. With decrease in VNS output current, patient's SDB improved, but seizure activity exacerbated, which required a return to the original settings. Continuous positive airway pressure titration was attempted, which showed only a partial improvement in apnea–hypopnea index. This case illustrates the need for clinicians to balance seizure control and SDB in patients with VNS.

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BackgroundPrior studies have reported that patients with epilepsy have a higher prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that contributes to poor seizure control. Detection and treatment of OSA can improve seizure control in some patients with epilepsy. In this study, we sought to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of an electronic health record (EHR) alert to screen for OSA in patients with epilepsy.MethodsA 3-month retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients with epilepsy >18 years of age who were evaluated in our epilepsy clinics prior to the intervention. An assessment for obstructive sleep apnea (AOSA) consisting of 12 recognized risk factors for OSA was subsequently developed and embedded in the EHR. The AOSA was utilized for a 3-month period. Patients identified with 2 or more risk factors were referred for polysomnography. A comparison was made to determine if there was a difference in the number of patients at risk for OSA detected and referred for polysomnography with and without an EHR alert to screen for OSA.ResultsThere was a significant increase in OSA patient recognition. Prior to the EHR alert, 25/346 (7.23%) patients with epilepsy were referred for a polysomnography. Postintervention, 405/414 patients were screened using an EHR alert for AOSA and 134/405 (33.1%) were referred for polysomnography (p < 0.001).ConclusionAn intervention with AOSA cued in the EHR demonstrated markedly improved identification of epilepsy patients at risk for OSA and referral for polysomnography.