Guanfacine in the Management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Insights from a Turkish Outpatient Clinic
Abstract
Objective: This brief report aims to summarize our outpatient child psychiatry clinic’s experience regarding extended release (ER) guanfacine use in the help-seeking Turkish Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) children and adolescents.
Methods: Data were gathered through a retrospective review of patient records from our database, focusing on children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD who had been prescribed ER guanfacine.
Results: The clinical data of 23 patients (18 males and 5 females) aged 8 to 17 years were analyzed, focusing on their demographic characteristics, developmental assessments, comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, initial psychiatric complaints, history of previous treatments, initial treatment responses and side effects, indications for initiating or augmenting treatment with guanfacine, therapeutic outcomes, and adverse effects associated with guanfacine, and the reasons for discontinuation when applicable.
Conclusion: This preliminary report suggests that guanfacine is well-tolerated, safe, and effective in alleviating ADHD-related symptoms, as well as reducing irritability, oppositional defiance, aggressive behaviors, and tics in children with ADHD comorbid multiple neurodevelopmental disorders.
Keywords
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, child, guanfacine, neurodevelopmental disorder, treatment
Ethical Statement
Ethics approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine (Approval number: İ09-721-24).
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