Objective: We aimed to investigate the improvement in sleep quantity and quality when clonidine was used in children and adolescents with insomnia. We also examined how sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, underlying psychological problems, and levels of depression and anxiety affected the effect of clonidine. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed outpatients aged 6 to 24 who took clonidine due to insomnia from September 2019 to September 2021 at the Department of Psychiatry at Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital of Catholic University. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for our study. Results: A total of 62 participants were included in our study (34 females, mean age 13.94±4.94 years). After using clonidine, there was a significant decrease in PSQI components 1, 2, and 5, especially PSQI component 2. There was a greater decrease in sleep latency when clonidine was used in females, those aged between 13 and 24, those with mood/anxiety disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, those whose sleep latency exceeded 60 minutes at baseline, and those who used clonidine for more than 14 days. Those with higher STAI-Trait scores and CDI scores at baseline showed less improvement in total PSQI scores. Conclusion Considering that there are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved sleep drugs for children and adolescents and no apparent difference in efficacy and safety among sleep drugs, we demonstrated that treatment with clonidine might be a good approach to improve sleep quality and quantity for children and adolescents.

Digital therapeutics based on software, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, games, and smartphone applications, are in the spotlight as new therapeutic alternatives in child and adolescent psychiatry. It draws attention to overcoming conventional therapeutics’ limitations, such as toxicity, cost, and accessibility, and encourages patients to participate in the treatment attractively. The growth potential of the digital therapeutics market for psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents in Korea and abroad has been highlighted. Clinical studies and Food and Drug Administration approvals for digital therapeutics have increased, and cases approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety have emerged in Korea. As seen above, digital transformation in child and adolescent psychiatry will change treatment paradigms significantly. Therefore, as this new field has just begun to emerge, it is necessary to verify the effectiveness and scope of the application of digital therapeutics and consider preparing a compensation system and institutional arrangements. Accordingly, this study analyzed the development trends and application status of digital therapeutics in children and adolescents and presented limitations and development directions from the perspective of application in healthcare. Further, the study is expected to identify the utility and limitations of digital therapeutics for children and adolescents and establish effective application measures.