Case study: accidental clonidine patch overdose in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder patients.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, January, 1999 by Broderick-Cantwell, John J.

Clonidine, an [[Alpha].sub.2]-adrenergic agonist, has often been used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tourette's disorder in children and adolescents. The therapeutic behavioral effects of oral clonidine last between 3 and 6 hours, requiring its administration 3 to 4 times daily for psychiatric disorders (Rosenberg et al., 1994).

The clonidine patch, which provides an alternative route of administration, is applied to the skin and needs replacement every 5 days (Hunt, 1987). Transdermal clonidine has several advantages over oral clonidine, including ...