Skip to content

ADHD guideline registry

Last verified: 2026-08-30

This registry catalogs guidance documents; recommendation synthesis belongs in guidelines.md. PubMed-indexed documents were retrieved live in this build session. Web-only documents were fetched from the issuing body on the date above.

Master table

Body Year Region Population/scope Citation Status
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2000 US Pediatric diagnosis/evaluation AAP. Clinical practice guideline: diagnosis and evaluation. PMID 10836893 superseded by → AAP 2011 → AAP 2019
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2001 US School-age treatment AAP. Treatment of the school-aged child. PMID 11581465 superseded by → AAP 2011 → AAP 2019
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2011 US Ages 4–18 diagnosis and treatment Subcommittee on ADHD. PMID 22003063 superseded by → AAP 2019
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 US Ages 4–18 diagnosis, evaluation, treatment Wolraich et al. Pediatrics. PMID 31570648 current; checked 2026-08-30
Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 2020 US Complex pediatric ADHD Barbaresi et al. PMID 31996577 current; checked 2026-08-30
NICE CG72 2008 England/Wales Children, young people and adults NICE CG72 superseded by → NG87
NICE NG87 2018; amended/surveilled England/Wales Lifespan diagnosis and management NICE NG87 current; last reviewed May 2025
AADPA / NHMRC 2022 Australia Lifespan identification, diagnosis and treatment Australian guideline; May et al. PMID 37254562 current; NHMRC approval originally valid 5 years
CADDRA 2020/2021 Canada Lifespan practice guidance and toolkit Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines 4.1 current edition presented by CADDRA
German interdisciplinary S3 (AWMF 028-045) 2026 Germany Children, adolescents and adults AWMF register entry current version 2.0; supersedes expired 2017/2018 edition
Spanish pediatric/cardiology societies 2020 Spain Cardiovascular assessment with ADHD medication Position statement. PMID 31676246 current status not independently confirmed
European guideline comparison 2024 Europe Pediatric pharmacotherapy recommendations Overview of European guidelines. PMID 38095716 secondary synthesis, not issuing guideline
International adult-guideline comparison 2007 International Adult diagnosis and treatment Clinical recommendations in current practice guidelines. PMID 17915083 historical comparison

Per-guideline notes

AAP 2019

  • Covers ages 4–18 and updates the 2011 guideline.
  • Adds a key action statement on comorbid diagnosis and treatment.
  • Maintains a chronic-care and medical-home framing.
  • Does not constitute an adult guideline (Wolraich 2019, PMID 31570648).

SDBP complex ADHD 2020

  • Addresses presentations insufficiently covered by uncomplicated primary-care algorithms.
  • Emphasizes coexisting conditions, functional assessment and interdisciplinary care (Barbaresi 2020, PMID 31996577).

NICE NG87

  • Replaced CG72 and earlier technology/evidence documents.
  • Covers recognition, referral, diagnosis, nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment, adherence, monitoring, review and discontinuation.
  • Official page includes September 2024 exceptional surveillance.
  • NICE records a May 2025 review and says future review will be triggered by evidence likely to change recommendations.
  • Recommends ongoing follow-up according to severity irrespective of medication status (NICE NG87, accessed 2026-08-30).

Australian guideline 2022

  • First national AADPA guideline; published July 2022 and released October 2022.
  • Approved by NHMRC and developed with GRADE, multidisciplinary expertise and lived-experience input.
  • Explicitly prioritizes everyday function and quality of life as well as symptoms.
  • Partly updates and adapts NICE evidence reviews to Australia (AADPA guideline, accessed 2026-08-30; May 2023, PMID 37254562).

CADDRA 4.1

  • Lifespan guidance with practical forms, follow-up questionnaires and accommodation templates.
  • CADDRA states that the edition was updated January 2020/January 2021 publication PDF.
  • Earlier editions were issued in 2006, 2008 and 2011, forming a supersession chain (CADDRA overview, accessed 2026-08-30).

German S3

  • Interdisciplinary evidence- and consensus-based lifespan guidance.
  • The 2017/2018 edition is expired, but the AWMF register now hosts version 2.0 materials dated 2026; the registry therefore no longer treats the expired English PDF as the current document.
  • Current-version status was rechecked at the AWMF 028-045 register entry on 2026-08-30. Language/version availability should be distinguished from the superseded English translation.

Documented disagreements and gaps

  1. Age coverage differs. AAP is pediatric; NICE, Australia, Canada and Germany use lifespan scopes.
  2. Health-system assumptions differ. Who diagnoses, prescribes and monitors depends on specialist availability and controlled-drug rules.
  3. Preschool sequencing differs. Behavioral-first thresholds and when medication is considered are not uniform.
  4. First-line drug selection differs. Licensing, formulation availability and cost alter stimulant-class recommendations; the evidence network itself shows age-dependent balances (Cortese 2018, PMID 30097390).
  5. Cardiovascular work-up differs. Routine ECG language varies, although history, examination, pulse and blood-pressure monitoring broadly recur.
  6. Functional outcomes are endorsed more strongly than they are measured. Acute symptom RCTs dominate the evidence base (Cortese 2018, PMID 30097390).
  7. Complex comorbidity often falls outside simple algorithms. SDBP created a dedicated complex-ADHD guideline (Barbaresi 2020, PMID 31996577).
  8. Adult access is structurally uneven. A lifespan recommendation does not create an adult service pathway.
  9. Female and older-adult evidence remains sparse. Recognition recommendations rely partly on consensus (Hinshaw 2022, PMID 34231220).
  10. German guidance changed during audit. Version 2.0 (2026) supersedes the expired 2017/2018 edition; English-language availability may lag the German documents.

Watch list

Item Why it may change Where to check
NICE NG87 update Last reviewed May 2025; future review is evidence-triggered NICE NG87 history/evidence pages
Australian guideline approval horizon Original NHMRC approval was stated as five years from 2022 AADPA guideline site
CADDRA next edition Version 4.1 remains current; CADDRA reported upcoming guideline updates in July 2026 CADDRA guideline overview/news
German S3 implementation/translation Version 2.0 is posted in German; translated/current derivative documents may follow AWMF register 028-045
AAP pediatric revision 2019 guideline is aging Pediatrics/AAP guideline portal
Adult US national guidance CDC stated in July 2026 that APSARD was still developing US adult guidelines CDC adult ADHD page and APSARD
Neuromodulation/digital recommendations Trial activity is growing faster than guideline incorporation ClinicalTrials.gov and guideline updates

Search record

  • PubMed: ADHD guideline, AAP, clinical-practice-guideline appraisal, Australian guideline, European pharmacotherapy guideline overview, adult guideline comparison.
  • Official sites re-fetched on 2026-08-30: NICE, AADPA/NHMRC, CADDRA, AWMF and CDC.
  • The adult-US negative finding was rerun: CDC's July 2026 page says APSARD is still working on US adult guidelines. This is a dated development-status statement, not a permanent absence claim.