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NCT Number: NCT07812948

Personalising ADHD Medication Treatment for Children and Young People

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common condition that affects children's behaviour, attention and activity levels. Medicines can be an effective treatment for ADHD, but it is often difficult to know which medicine will work best for a particular child. As a result, some children may need to try several medicines before finding one that is effective and well tolerated. This study aims to test a new online decision-support system called PETRA. The system is designed to help children, parents or carers, and doctors make shared decisions about ADHD medication. The study will assess whether it is practical and acceptable to run a larger clinical trial comparing this personalised approach with standard care.

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Key information

Conditions

ADHD Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Age range

6 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Children/adolescents:

  • Aged 6-17 years
  • With a clinical diagnosis of ADHD by a clinical team (using either DSM-5-TR or ICD-11 criteria)
  • On the waiting list for the pharmacological treatment of ADHD

Inclusion criteria

for parent/carer:

  • Parental responsibility
  • Knowledge of child's medical history sufficient to complete assessments.
  • Access to internet and email
  • Able to give valid informed consent
  • Sufficient understanding of English to allow access/understanding of the PETRA decision support system and study documentation

Exclusion criteria

  • Based on the clinical judgement of the prescribing clinician, any current condition that would be a contraindication for ADHD medication, including abnormal cardiovascular examination (i.e., BP>95th percentile (for stimulants) and low blood pressure for guanfacine/clonidine as well as tachycardia ) or any conditions that should be treated before starting pharmacological treatment for ADHD such as alcohol/substance dependence, active psychosis, and active mania
  • Immediate risk to self or others

Treatment and study plan

PETRA decision-aid tool

Other

The PETRA decision-aid tool will use personalised data as well as data from meta-analysis to provide three best choices of ADHD medication. This will aid shared decision-making between clinician and patient.

Best-evidence decision-support tool

Other

The output for this arm will look the same as the PETRA tool, providing three top choices of medication, each with respective pros and cons and margin of statistical uncertainty. However, the output of this tool will instead indicate the side effects that any medication is likely to cause, or not cause, based on population average data, regardless of the patients' individual characteristics.

Primary outcomes

  1. Acceptability of PETRA decision-aid tool

    Time frame: Enrolment to approximately 24 weeks

    measured using a qualitative interview shortly after the first medication appointment

  2. Recruitment Rate

    Time frame: Enrolment to approximately 24 weeks

    measured using trial database at the end of study

  3. Withdrawal rates

    Time frame: Enrolment to approximately 24 weeks

    Measured using trial database at the end of the study

  4. Data completeness

    Time frame: Enrolment to approximately 24 weeks

    Measured using trial database at the end of the study

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Southampton

Other

Registry information

Official study title

PErsonalising the Pharmacological TReatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children

Acronym: PETRA

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2028
First posted
Sep 10, 2026
Registry last updated
Sep 10, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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