Health Canada is reviewing data on the anti-depressant Paxil after warnings that the drug increases the risk of suicidal impulses in children and adolescents.

Drug regulators in Britain and the United States have both issued warnings against the pediatric use of Paxil. In Britain, the drug (paroxetine) is sold under the name Seroxat.

Clinical trials by Paxil's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, show that children given Paxil were one and a half to three times more likely to have suicidal impulses than those taking placebos.




Although Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have never approved of the drug for people 18 years and younger, some doctors prescribe it anyway.

Dr. David Healey, a psychiatrist at the University of Wales College of Medicine and the author of several books on anti-depressants, does not think the latest Paxil warnings will stop doctors from prescribing the drugs for children and teens. But he hopes it will make doctors more aware and cautious.

Adil Virani
Adil Virani

"The risk problems really are for people being put on the drugs, and anyone who's on the drugs and has been doing quite well shouldn't be worried at being on the drugs," he said.

Paxil is one of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs in both adults and children in Canada, and according to IMS Health statistics, more than three million prescriptions were filled for the drug in 2000.

Pharmacy professor Adil Virani says that's because it's effective. He specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry at the children's hospital in Halifax and believes doctors will continue to prescribe Paxil for children.

"About 50 to 60 per cent of the children and adults given these medications seem to improve with respect to their symptoms of depression or anxiety," he said.