ABSTRACT
Anxiolytic and sedative agents are among the most frequently prescribed drugs in medicine. However, “anxiolytic” is a deceiving term for this category. Antidepressants are the long-term treatment of choice for most anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, and are discussed separately (see Chapters 4 and 6). Similarly, antipsychotics and beta-adrenergic antagonists, which are often used for their sedative and anxiolytic properties, are reviewed in Chapters 7 and 11. Therefore, although the medications discussed in this chapter are commonly known as anxiolytics, they do not necessarily represent the current standards of treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. The distinction is an important one, since most anxiolytics are actually of limited use for children and adolescents.
