Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Diagnostic Strategies and New Evidence

One of the most challenging areas of psychiatry is the diagnosis and management of children and adolescents with bipolar spectrum disorders. In particular, treatment of the depressive phase of the bipolar spectrum disorders in children and adolescents remains a largely unmet need. Up to 2 million children in the United States have bipolar disorder. It is now recognized that about half of adult patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder had their first episode as children or adolescents. Differential diagnosis is challenging, and as many as half of adolescents with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed. Although data exist on the pharmacologic management of mania in children and adolescents, less is known about the treatment of pediatric bipolar depression. Depressive episodes in bipolar disorder present a number of challenges because symptoms in youth vary and are often atypical. Psychiatric health care providers need education to recognize pediatric bipolar depression earlier and initiate appropriate management interventions. In this activity, expert faculty will present clinical strategies to enhance the accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents, improve recognition of comorbidities, and optimize approaches to pharmacologic treatment.