In a study by Balia et al. (2017–18, in press) «Balia C, Carucci S, Coghill D ym. The pharmacologi...»1 the researchers systematically reviewed and, where data was adequate, conducted meta-analyses on the efficacy of medication on aggression in children and adolescent with CD considering the impact of CU traits. Five RCT-studies on psychostimulants were found to meet the study inclusion criteria investigating the efficacy of methylphenidate on aggression in CD.
Summary of the studies is shown in Table «Psychostimulants for aggression and conduct problems in youth with CD, with and without ADHD....»1.
Outcome | Number of studies and patients | Duration of studies | Summary of findings |
---|---|---|---|
Aggression and conduct problems measured by rating scales | 5 RCTs 242 patients age 6–15 years |
3 to 6 weeks | Effect size (Cohen d), conduct prob Parent -2.43, 95% CI -5.39 to 0.53 Teacher -2.62, 95% CI -4.67 to -0.57 SMD, aggression Parent -2.94, 95% CI -6.06 to 0.18 Teacher -5.09, 95% CI -10.23 to 0.05 |
Two of these studies were conducted in subjects with a primary diagnosis of CD, but ADHD was not excluded and was a comorbidity in 69% of children in one study (n=83), the other study included 6 cases. The remaining three studies included a population of ADHD children and adolescent with comorbid CD in 55.5% and 68%, and a comorbid condition of ODD/CD in the 64% of cases. The results were not subanalyzed based on diagnostic groups.