Citation

Hameed U, Dellasega CA. Prim. Care Companion CNS Disord. 2016; 18(2): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Humanities, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Physicians Postgraduate Press)

DOI

10.4088/PCC.15br01893

PMID

27486529

Abstract

The goal of this article is to describe the concept of irritability in children and youth, which has been revisited in the DSM-5. Traditionally, this behavior has been more commonly associated with mood disorders, which may account for the rising incidence of bipolar disorder diagnosis and overuse of mood-stabilizing medications in pediatric patients. While not predictive of mania, persistent nonepisodic irritability, if undetected, may escalate to violent behavior with potentially serious outcomes. It is therefore important to educate clinicians about how to accurately assess irritability in pediatric patients.

Language: en