Impact of providing psychiatry specialty pharmacist intervention on reducing drug-related problems among children with autism spectrum disorder related to disruptive behavioural symptoms: A prospective randomized open-label study

Abstract

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which demonstrated that PS pharmacist intervention is an effective strategy to resolve DRPs in patient with ASD. The reduction in common DRPs mostly resulted from the PS pharmacist interventions, including selection of antipsychotic agent, adjustment of dosage based on ABC-I scores and provision of individualized drug counselling. Reducing DRPs led to the improvement of any disruptive behaviour. In addition, multidisciplinary team should develop drug therapy protocols to promote the role of pharmacists in this setting.

The role of pharmacists in the management of autism spectrum disorder: A survey to determine the knowledge and perception of the parents

“…Therefore, pharmacological therapy is the mainstay in ASD therapy, in order to help patients to become functional in their daily activities, which additively needs to be supported by behavioral therapy as well (Goel et al 2018;DeFilippis 2018). Risperidone and aripiprazole, the atypical antipsychotic agents, are the only medications approved by the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat irritability and self-injurious and aggressive behaviors in children with ASD (Posey et al 2008, Oshikoya 2019, Wink 2017. In particular, Risperidone is the commonly prescribed antipsychotic with the most comprehensive data in ASD, and is used either alone or in combination with aripiprazole to treat children with ASD (Novaes et al 2008).…”

“…In line with our findings, weight gain and associated metabolic risks have been reported with antipsychotic treatment in other ASD patients. Indeed, it's well known that weight gain and drowsiness are the main side effects of risperidone, while sedation occurs especially with the use of aripiprazole (Wink 2017).…”

“…Other diseases determined to be associated with autism include epilepsy (n=9), intellectual disability (n=7) and hyperactivity (n=4) ( Table 2). In this relation, children with ASD can use several medications at the same time for the treatment of different symptoms, as well as comorbid disorders (Wongpakaran et al 2017). Therefore, it is important to consider the effectiveness, adverse effects and interactions of these medications used systemically during ASD therapy.…”

“…Almost all of the parents in this survey study stated that they received the first information about the use of drugs in ASD from their doctors. Taking into account the long-term use of medicines in children with ASD and the possibility of polypharmacy, the interest of pharmacists in monitoring the patient is very important to ensure maximum benefit from the pharmacological treatment (Wongpakaran et al 2017, Sharma et al 2018. It is the responsibility of the pharmacist to inform the family about ASD, to explain the use of drugs in the correct manner, to warn about important side effects of drugs, to emphasize the important points in their nutrition and to inform the parents about the dietary supplements.…”

“…Pharmacists play an important role in the follow up of new treatment approaches, in providing the correct use of the prescribed drugs and over the counter medications (OTC), as well as the education of ASD families. Unfortunately, pharmacists are rarely included in the team of health professionals who routinely provide care to children with ASD (Shafiq and Pringsheim 2018;Breik et al 2018;Wongpakaran et al 2017;Luleci et al 2016).…”