Aripiprazole Augmentation in Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Three Case Reports

Abstract

Aripiprazole is a third generation antipsychotic that has a partial dopamine agonistic activity. There is an increasing usage of aripiprazole in children and adolescents with schizophrenia, pervasive developmental disorders, and bipolar disorders. In these presentation, we aimed to present three pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) cases who were resistant to two different selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatments and prescribed aripiprazole for augmentation therapy. The results of these three cases suggest that aripiprazole is an effective and safe alternative as augmentation for childhood OCD treatment. However, to investigate the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in childhood OCD, randomized controlled treatment studies are needed.