Objective: To assess critically the efficacy and safety of lithium and replicate earlier findings in a larger sample of aggressive children with conduct disorder and to assess the utility of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) in this population.
Methods: Children hospitalized for treatment-refractory severe aggressiveness and explosiveness and with diagnosed conduct disorder were subjects in this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. After a 2-week placebo baseline period, children were randomly assigned to lithium or placebo treatment for 6 weeks of placebo. The main outcome measures were the Global Clinical Judgments (Consensus) Scale, Children's Psychiatric Rating Scale, Conners Teacher Questionnaire, Parent-Teacher Questionnaire, and the POMS.
Results: Fifty children (mean age 9.4 years) completed this study. The mean optimal daily dose of lithium was 1,248 mg and the mean serum level was 1.12 mEq/L. Lithium was superior to placebo, although the effects on some measures were more modest than in a previous study.
Conclusions: Lithium appears to be an effective treatment for some severely aggressive children with conduct disorder. Although the POMS appeared to be reliable, it did not detect any response to lithium.