ArticleEvidence-based mental health2016
Methylphenidate for ADHD in children and adolescents: throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Article in Evidence-based mental health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methylphenidate for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of neurofeedback versus methylphenidate for the treatment of ADHD: systematic review and meta-analysis of head-to-head trials.Evidence-based mental health · 2019Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy and tolerability of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, adolescents, and adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2018Pooled it
- ESCAP endorses the inclusion of methylphenidate in the WHO model lists of essential medicines and in the Union list of critical medicines.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Does Methylphenidate Work in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?Pediatric reports · 2021Article
- No Medication for My Child! A Naturalistic Study on the Treatment Preferences for and Effects of Cogmed Working Memory Training Versus Psychostimulant Medication in Clinically Referred Youth with ADHD.Child psychiatry and human development · 2018Article
- Article
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): from randomised controlled trials to evidence-based clinical services.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2017Article
- Amphetamines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.Paediatrics & child health · 2017Article
- The Cochrane Collaboration withdraws a review on methylphenidate for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Evidence-based medicine · 2017Article
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017Review
- Randomised or not?Evidence-based mental health · 2017Article
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Looked-After Children: a Systematic Review of the Literature.Current developmental disorders reports · 2017Review
- Evidence on methylphenidate in children and adolescents with ADHD is in fact of 'very low quality'.Evidence-based mental health · 2016Article
- Applying a Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective to Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Implications for Schools.Developmental neuropsychologyArticle
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A recent Cochrane review assessed the efficacy of methylphenidate for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. Notwithstanding the moderate-to-large effect sizes for ADHD symptom reduction found in the meta-analysis, the authors concluded that the quality of the evidence is low and therefore the true magnitude of these effects remains uncertain. We identified a number of major concerns with the review, in the domains of study inclusion, approaches to quality assessment and interpretation of data relating to serious adverse events as well as of the clinical implications of the reported effects. We also found errors in the extraction of data used to estimate the effect size of the primary outcome. Considering all the shortcomings, the conclusion in the Cochrane review that the status of the evidence is uncertain is misplaced. Professionals, parents and patients should refer to previous reviews and existing guidelines, which include methylphenidate as one of the safe and efficacious treatment strategies for ADHD.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.