Cochrane · systematic review · CD009885

Methylphenidate for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Storebø, OJ, Storm, MR, Pereira Ribeiro, J, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2023 · Cochrane Library

Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems2 versionsAMSTAR 2: not assessed

SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.

Questions

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GRADE rated

No studies

Included studies

No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 5 · 100%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%

Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.

Questions and results

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Methylphenidate compared with placebo or no intervention for children and adolescents with ADHD

Population: children and adolescents (up to and including 18 years of age) with ADHD

5 questions

Outcome	Effect	Evidence	Status / GRADE
ADHD symptoms: all parallel‐group trials and first‐period cross‐over trialsADHD Rating Scale (teacher‐rated) Average trial duration: 68.7 days Methylphenidate vs placebo or no intervention	no estimate extracted	21 studies · 1728 participants	Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency
Proportion of participants with one or more serious adverse events Methylphenidate vs placebo or no intervention	RR 0.8 [0.39, 1.67]	26 studies · 3673 participants	Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision
Proportion of participants with one or more adverse events considered non‐serious Methylphenidate vs placebo or no intervention	RR 1.23 [1.11, 1.37]	35 studies · 5342 participants	Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency
General behaviour: all parallel‐group trials and first‐period cross‐over trialsGeneral behaviour rating scales (teacher‐rated) Methylphenidate vs placebo or no intervention	no estimate extracted	7 studies · 792 participants	Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness
Quality of life (parent‐rated) Methylphenidate vs placebo or no intervention	SMD 0.4	4 studies · 608 participants	Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness