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You have just diagnosed a 9-year-old boy with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, following your usual data-gathering steps from both school and home that helped characterize the problem. After discussing the treatment options, the parents have elected to initiate methylphenidate and plan a follow-up appointment with you in 4 weeks.
Of the following adverse effects, the MOST likely to occur in this patient is
A. dysphoria
B. hallucinations
C. headaches
D. hypertension
E. tics
C.
Stimulant medications are very well known for causing appetite suppression and weight loss (for which regular monitoring of the growth curve is very helpful) and difficulty with initiating sleep. In addition to these risks, more than 10% of children using stimulants will also experience headaches, stomach aches, dry mouth, and nausea. Two percent to 10% of children using stimulants will experience irritability, dysphoria, cognitive dulling, obsessiveness, anxiety, tics, dizziness, or blood pressure and pulse changes. Less than 2% of children using stimulants could have a notable, but rare reaction of hallucinations (usually visual or tactile rather than auditory) or manic symptoms; these are typically risks that appear when using stimulants at high doses.