Results The technology assessment was unable to differentiate between the various drugs in terms of efficacy , and its economic model was ultimately driven by cost differences .
While the assessment concluded that the economic model " clearly identified an optimal treatment strategy " with first-line dexamphetamine , the NICE appraisal committee subsequently found it impossible to distinguish between the different strategies on grounds of cost-effectiveness .
Background Health technology assessment s ( HTAs ) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ( NICE ) enjoy high levels of international attention .
The present analysis addresses NICE 's appraisal of methylpheni date , atomoxetine and dexamphetamine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) in children and adolescents , published in March 2006 .
ADHD in girls: clinical comparability of a research sample.
OBJECTIVE The investigation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) in girls raises complex questions of referral bias and selection criteria . The authors sought to determine whether they could recruit a research sample of comparably affected girls using a combination of sex-independent diagnostic criteria and sex-normed cutoffs on teacher ratings . They also report on the largest placebo-controlled crossover comparison of methylpheni date and dextroamphetamine in girls with ADHD . METHOD Subjects were 42 girls with DSM-III-R/DSM-IV ADHD ( combined type ) contrasted to 56 previously studied boys with ADHD on comorbid diagnoses , behavioral ratings , psychological measures , psychiatric family history , and stimulant drug response . RESULTS Girls with ADHD were statistically indistinguishable from comparison boys on nearly all measures . Girls exhibited robust beneficial effects on both stimulants , with nearly all ( 95 % ) responding favorably to one or both drugs in this short-term trial . Dextroamphetamine produced significantly greater weight loss than methylpheni date . CONCLUSIONS This highly selected group of ADHD girls was strikingly comparable with comparison boys on a wide range of measures . The results confirm that girls with ADHD do not differ from boys in response to methylpheni date and dextroamphetamine and that both stimulants should be tried when response to the first is not optimal
Results The technology assessment was unable to differentiate between the various drugs in terms of efficacy , and its economic model was ultimately driven by cost differences .
While the assessment concluded that the economic model " clearly identified an optimal treatment strategy " with first-line dexamphetamine , the NICE appraisal committee subsequently found it impossible to distinguish between the different strategies on grounds of cost-effectiveness .
Background Health technology assessment s ( HTAs ) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ( NICE ) enjoy high levels of international attention .
The present analysis addresses NICE 's appraisal of methylpheni date , atomoxetine and dexamphetamine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) in children and adolescents , published in March 2006 .