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Lookup NU author(s): Alex Hagan, Dr Sarah Verity
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Impairment in sustained attention is a common consequence of childhood Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Whilst methylphenidate provides promise in enhancing “attention” as a unitary construct, little work has explored its effectiveness upon individual attentional domains. The current systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the utility of methylphenidate on sustained attentional performance across childhood ABI groups. Five databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus & Cochrane Library) were searched for relevant articles from their inception to March 2022. A purpose-developed evaluation tool was used to assess each study’s research quality (QuEST:MAP). Nine of the 1600 identified articles were included within this review (n = 259). Meta-analytical findings reported an overall significant benefit of methylphenidate on sustained attention in childhood ABI (g = −0.33, 95% CI: −0.62 to −0.04). Associated summary effect sizes were relatively small, particularly when adjusting for outlier cases. Subgroup analyses identified a significantly greater benefit of methylphenidate in clinical subgroups with comorbid ADHD diagnoses (p < .01). The current evidence base is characterized by small-scale clinical trials with variable research quality and low generalizability. Further robust research is needed to quantify methylphenidate utility upon individual attentional domains in larger and more representative ABI samples.
Author(s): Hagan AJ, Verity SJ
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Child Neuropsychology
Year: 2023
Volume: 29
Issue: 5
Pages: 710-741
Online publication date: 24/08/2022
Acceptance date: 08/08/2022
ISSN (print): 0929-7049
ISSN (electronic): 744-4136
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2022.2112559
DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2112559
