Volume 59, Issue 3 pp. 580-588
Journal Club

Safety of stimulant medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in paediatric congenital heart disease

Lorraine M Chung

Corresponding Author

Lorraine M Chung

Department of Child and Adolescent Health Unit, Mackay Base Hospital, Mackay, Queensland, Australia

Correspondence: Dr Lorraine M Chung, Department of Child and Adolescent Health Unit, Mackay Base Hospital, 475 Bridge Road, Mackay, Qld 4740, Australia. email: [email protected]

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Gopakumar Hariharan

Gopakumar Hariharan

Department of Child and Adolescent Health Unit, Mackay Base Hospital, Mackay, Queensland, Australia

School of Medicine, James Cook University, Mackay, Queensland, Australia

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Suraj Varma

Suraj Varma

MonashHeart & Monash Children's Hospital, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Monash Cardiovascular Research Centre, Victorian Heart Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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First published: 15 February 2023
Citations: 1

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Abstract

Aim

To review current literature regarding the safety of stimulant medications for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in paediatric congenital heart disease (CHD) patients.

Methods

Embase, MEDLINE complete, CINAHL complete and Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection were searched for relevant articles from January 1980 to July 2022.

Results

One hundred and three articles were identified during the initial search after removal of duplicates. Thirty-five articles were selected for review and 11 were included as relevant to the clinical question.

Conclusions

Stimulant medications are safe in patients with underlying CHD. In mild congenital cardiac conditions (ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and isolated semilunar valve disease), paediatricians can safely initiate stimulant therapy. With complex CHD cases, cardiology opinion is recommended prior to starting stimulants.

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