Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents has become a great challenge for professionals who work with this type of patients, as well as for researchers interested in studying it in depth. Firstly, diagnostic assessment is difficult; secondly, to establish a safe, long-term and effective treatment is challenging. Different cycling patterns, predominance of mixed episodes, severity of symptoms and need of polypharmacy makes the treatment of child and adolescent bipolar disorder very complex and requiring a wider range of therapeutic resources. The present case reports a successful use of quetiapine for a bipolar adolescent diagnosed at the age of 12 years who had been unsuccessfully treated using many therapeutic options. Quetiapine showed efficacy in both acute and prophylactic treatment of early-onset bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder; quetiapine; adolescent; treatment