Introduction: Atypical Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents

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Antipsychotic drugs are commonly used in children and adolescents for a variety of psychiatric conditions. Although the conventional antipsychotics have proved effective in the pediatric population,^1,2 their use is limited by safety concerns, such as extrapyramidal symptoms, for which the risk is higher in children than in adults, and possible adverse effects on cognition.¹

Compared with conventional antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics are less likely to cause extrapyramidal symptoms in young people.³‘ ‹’ ‹