Key result
The combination of clonidine and methylphenidate was associated with unexplained sudden death in three children ages 7 to 9 years.
Case Report (n=3)
The combination of clonidine and methylphenidate may be associated with unexplained sudden death in children, raising significant safety concerns regarding its use.
May warrant caution combining clonidine and methylphenidate in children; hypothesis-generating case reports leave causality and practice change open.
Clonidine is used by pediatricians and child psychiatrists for tics, Tourette's syndrome, and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) with aggressive behavior. However, recent evidence of sudden death and cardiac toxicity associated with clonidine raises concern about the widespread use of this medication. There are three unpublished cases where the combination of clonidine and methylphenidate has been associated with unexplained sudden death in children ages 7,8, and 9 years (Frenia M.L., personal communication, September 21, 1995, Drug Surveillance and Information, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals).
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Maloney et al. (1995) conducted a case report in Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), Tourette's syndrome, or tics (n=3). Clonidine and methylphenidate combination was evaluated on Unexplained sudden death. The combination of clonidine and methylphenidate was associated with unexplained sudden death in three children ages 7 to 9 years.
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