| Summary: | Background: Psychiatric disorders are now frequently diagnosed in children and adolescents, and psychotropic medications are being used increasingly for the treatment of these disorders. Aims: The aim is to study the frequency and the pattern of prescription of psychotropic drugs in outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric facility. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric facility. Materials and Methods: The outpatient department prescription of all patients who were ≤18 years of age, who attended the Outpatient Child and Adolescent Facility of Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Srinagar, over 1½-year period were studied. The following details were recorded – age, gender, diagnosis with comorbidity, and the psychotropic drugs which were prescribed. Results: A total of 624 patients attended the outpatient service during the study period. The mean age was 7.74 years (standard deviation = 3.76). 67.3% were male. Hyperkinetic disorder (27.1%) and mental retardation (26.3%) were the more frequent diagnosis. Comorbidity was present in 28.8%. 60.6% of the patients were prescribed psychotropic medication with 44.9% being prescribed a single psychotropic, 15.1% were prescribed two psychotropics simultaneously, and 0.6% were prescribed three psychotropics simultaneously. Stimulants (17.5%), risperidone (25.2%), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (9.9%) were the commonly prescribed psychotropics. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive analysis was carried out with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and results were presented as frequencies and percentages. Conclusion: Simulants, antipsychotics, and antidepressants were commonly prescribed psychotropics with stimulants and antidepressants mostly being prescribed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression, while most of the antipsychotics being prescribed for nonpsychotic conditions.
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