Pediatric Psychopharmacology for Primary Care, 4th Edition Doody's Expert Review Review Questionnaire ISBN: 9781610027656 ISBN-10: 1610027655 Copyright: 2025 Edition: 4th Author: Riddle, Mark A., Campo, John V., Doody's Expert Review    Score: 83 Doody's Star Rating™ and Doody's Expert Review provide by Doody Enterprises, Inc. Reviewer: Megan Kube,  MD  (Trinity Health) Description This is a compact, practical reference source for clinicians who see pediatric patients with psychological symptoms in a primary care setting as well as inpatient psychiatric or outpatient care to guide decisions around psychotropic medication management. This is the fourth edition book; the previous edition was published in 2021. Purpose The book offers clinicians a comprehensive model to prescribe medication for pediatric psychiatric conditions in a safe and effective manner. The book meets these objectives in that it provides a simplified framework that may be utilized by clinicians in the primary care environment or psychiatric settings. Audience This book is intended primarily for primary care practitioners and effectively reduces confusion and apprehension around prescribing psychotropic medications to children, while also cautioning when referral is necessary. This is especially important as pediatric psychiatrists are few and far between, and many children lack access to a child psychiatrist. This book also offers pearls for those in other stages of training. This book may not be suitable for those who want a more thorough mechanistic exploration of various medications, but it is useful in its succinctness and practicality. Features This book is structured in four parts. The first section focuses on establishing conceptual frameworks around pediatric psychopharmacology, overview of common DSM-5 diagnoses, and important considerations prior to prescribing a child a medication. Next, the book focuses on medications specifically for ADHD, anxiety, and depression. The following section dives into other medications commonly prescribed including antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and sleep aids. The final section includes a guide for fine-tuning treatment and treatment-resistant cases. This section also includes guidance on when to consider genetic testing, discontinuing, or switching to an alternative second- or third-line medication. The book concludes with multiple assessment tools and resources as well as outlining the safety and efficacy of multiple ADHD and medications for mood disorders in an easy-to-read table. Unique structural elements include "clinical comments" side notes within each chapter, which emphasize important points and offer evidence-based pearls to apply to clinical practice. For example, on the section of SSRIs, it was helpful to learn how some clinical experience suggests that escitalopram may be relatively more sedating and may be beneficial for sleep onset insomnia over the long term. Another clinical comment discusses how combining stimulants, and alpha agonists may be synergistic in offsetting stimulant side effects and how both have been shown that children under age 6 are less responsive to these medications. Future editions of the book might include more of these "clinical comments." In addition to narrative-style prose, the book also includes several tables summarizing the latest applicable meta-analyses. Some tables also outline various formulations of stimulants for ADHD. This becomes especially important for children who are unable or unwilling to swallow pills when the need for treatment may be limited by the child's age or mental illness. Similar tables for other medications would have been appreciated, especially for FDA-approved antipsychotics and antidepressants for children. The inclusion of more diagrams in future editions would help make the book feel less like a reference book and more appealing for visual learners. Assessment This book is effective in that it includes all relevant information needed to select a medication, while also placing an emphasis on the importance of non-pharmacological management, including therapy and behavioral interventions, in a digestible way. As a psychiatry resident hoping to pursue fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, I found this book useful thus far during my inpatient and outpatient child psychiatry rotations. Review Questionnaire Range Question Score 1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 8 1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10 1-5 Is this written at an appropriate level? 5 1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 3 1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 4 1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 5 1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 3 1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 3 1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 3 1-5 Are there sufficient references? 5 1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 3 1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 4 1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5 1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book N/A 1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 8 1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10 ©2025 Doody Enterprises, Inc.