Clinical observation on treatment of Tourette syndrome in Chinese children by clonidine adhesive patch

Abstract Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of clonidine adhesive patch in treating Tourette syndrome (TS). Methods From July 2010 to July 2014,a total of 261 children, who met the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (third edition) diagnostic criteria for TS, aged 5–12 years, were referred to the department of Pediatrics, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital. The patients were divided randomly into a treatment group (clonidine adhesive patch, n = 128) and a control group (haloperidol, n = 116), 17cases dropped out. The clinical effectiveness was assessed by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) at the end of fourth week. The short-term effectiveness and adverse reaction to the treatment were assessed at the end of treatment. Results The YGTSS score in both groups decreased after 4 weeks of treatment, but the clonidine adhesive patch group showed a higher reduction in the overall tic symptom scores (40.05 ± 3.44%) than that of the control group (17.88 ± 4.40%; P p  > 0.05). There were no severe adverse events in both groups, but mild side effects (decrease of blood pressure and dizziness) were observed in 3 patients in the clonidine adhesive patch group. 2 had mild cervical muscle tension and 4 had mild drowsiness and fatigue in the control group. Conclusion In the treatment of TS in children and adolescents, the clonidine adhesive patch is superior to the standard treatment with haloperidol with a safer and better-tolerated profile.