There were mixed findings with regard to the use of CPTs to assess and manage medication , with contrasting evidence on their ability to support clinical decision-making .
There was a strong evidence base for the use of objective measures of activity to aid ADHD/non-ADHD group differentiation , which appears sensitive to medication effects and would also benefit from further research on their clinical utility .
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is typically diagnosed using clinical observation and subjective informant reports .
Once children commence ADHD medication , robust monitoring is required to detect partial or non-responses .
The extent to which neuropsychological continuous performance tests ( CPTs ) and objective measures of activity can clinical ly aid the assessment and titration process in ADHD is not fully understood .
This review describes the current evidence base for the use of CPTs and objective ly measured activity to support the diagnostic procedure and medication management for children with ADHD .
Four data bases ( PsycINFO , Medline , Allied and Complementary Medicine ( AMED ) , and PsycARTICLES ) were systematic ally search ed to underst and the current evidence base for ( 1 ) the use of CPTs to aid clinical assessment of ADHD ; ( 2 ) the use of CPTs to aid medication management ; and ( 3 ) the clinical utility of objective measures of activity in ADHD .
Clinical symptoms and performance on the continuous performance test in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder between subtypes: a natural follow-up study for 6 months
Background The aims of this study were to determine the time course of improvements in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) clinical symptoms and neurocognitive function in a realistic clinical setting , and the differences in ADHD symptom improvement using different classifications of ADHD subtypes . Methods The Child Behavior Checklist ( CBCL ) was completed by parents of ADHD children at the initial visit . The  computerized Continuous Performance Test ( CPT ) , Swanson , Nolan , and Pelham , and Version IV Scale for ADHD ( SNAP-IV ) , and  ADHD Rating Scale ( ADHD-RS ) were performed at baseline , one month , three months , and six months later , respectively . Patient care including drug therapy was performed at the discretion of the psychiatrist . The ADHD patients were divided into DSM-IV subtypes ( Inattentive , Hyperactive-impulsive and Combined type ) , and were additionally categorized into aggressive and non-aggressive subtypes by aggression scale in CBCL for comparisons . Results There were 50 ADHD patients with a mean age of 7.84 ± 1.64 years ; 15 of them were inattentive type , 11 were hyperactive-impulsive type , and 24 were combined type . In addition , 28 of the ADHD patients were grouped into aggressive and 22 into non-aggressive subtypes . There were significant improvements in clinical symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention , and impulsivity performance in CPT during the 6-month treatment . The clinical hyperactive symptoms were significantly different between ADHD patients sub-grouping both by DSM-IV and aggression . Non-aggressive patients had significantly greater changes in distraction and impulsivity performances in CPT from baseline to month 6 than aggressive patients . Conclusions We found that ADHD symptoms , which included impulsive performances in CPT and clinical inattention and hyperactivity dimensions , had improved significantly over 6 months under pragmatic treatments . The non-aggressive ADHD patients might have a higher potential for improving in CPT performance than aggressive ones . However , it warrant further investigation whether the different classifications of ADHD patients could be valid for predicting the improvements in ADHD patients ' clinical symptoms and neurocognitive performance
There were mixed findings with regard to the use of CPTs to assess and manage medication , with contrasting evidence on their ability to support clinical decision-making .
There was a strong evidence base for the use of objective measures of activity to aid ADHD/non-ADHD group differentiation , which appears sensitive to medication effects and would also benefit from further research on their clinical utility .
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is typically diagnosed using clinical observation and subjective informant reports .
Once children commence ADHD medication , robust monitoring is required to detect partial or non-responses .
The extent to which neuropsychological continuous performance tests ( CPTs ) and objective measures of activity can clinical ly aid the assessment and titration process in ADHD is not fully understood .
This review describes the current evidence base for the use of CPTs and objective ly measured activity to support the diagnostic procedure and medication management for children with ADHD .
Four data bases ( PsycINFO , Medline , Allied and Complementary Medicine ( AMED ) , and PsycARTICLES ) were systematic ally search ed to underst and the current evidence base for ( 1 ) the use of CPTs to aid clinical assessment of ADHD ; ( 2 ) the use of CPTs to aid medication management ; and ( 3 ) the clinical utility of objective measures of activity in ADHD .