Results There is some evidence of the effectiveness of medication in treating DBDs , with positive outcomes for lithium and risperidone in particular .
Pharmacotherapy also demonstrated some efficacy in reducing symptoms of aggression .
Medication was relatively well-tolerated , as indicated by equivalent dropout rates in medication and comparison groups .
Rationale Pharmacotherapy is frequently considered in the treatment of  disruptive behavior disorders ( DBDs ) in children and adolescents .
There are , however , no systematic review s of this literature .
Objectives The aim of this work is to determine whether medication is effective in treating pediatric disruptive behavior disorders and related problems of impulse control , as well as to examine differences in the treatment response and tolerability of different medication classes and agents .
Carbamazepine in aggressive children with conduct disorder: a double-blind and placebo-controlled study.
OBJECTIVE To assess critically the short-term efficacy and safety of carbamazepine in the reduction of aggressiveness in children with diagnosed conduct disorder . METHOD Subjects were children aged 5 to 12 years who were hospitalized for treatment-resistant aggressiveness and explosiveness and who had diagnosed conduct disorder . The study was double-blind and placebo-controlled , using a parallel-groups design . Following a 2-week placebo baseline period , children who met the aggression criteria were r and omly assigned to treatments for 6 weeks ; the study ended with a 1-week posttreatment placebo period . Multiple raters rated the children independently , using multiple rating scales under four conditions . The main outcome measures included the Overt Aggression Scale , the Global Clinical Judgments ( Consensus ) Scale , and the Children 's Psychiatric Rating Scale . RESULTS Twenty-two children , aged 5.33 to 11.7 years , completed the study .  Carbamazepine was not superior to placebo at optimal daily doses ranging from 400 to 800 mg , mean 683 mg , at serum levels of 4.98 to 9.1 micrograms/mL. Untoward effects associated with administration of carbamazepine were common . CONCLUSIONS In this modest sample of children , the superiority of carbamazepine over placebo in reducing aggressive behavior was not demonstrated
Results There is some evidence of the effectiveness of medication in treating DBDs , with positive outcomes for lithium and risperidone in particular .
Pharmacotherapy also demonstrated some efficacy in reducing symptoms of aggression .
Medication was relatively well-tolerated , as indicated by equivalent dropout rates in medication and comparison groups .
Rationale Pharmacotherapy is frequently considered in the treatment of  disruptive behavior disorders ( DBDs ) in children and adolescents .
There are , however , no systematic review s of this literature .
Objectives The aim of this work is to determine whether medication is effective in treating pediatric disruptive behavior disorders and related problems of impulse control , as well as to examine differences in the treatment response and tolerability of different medication classes and agents .