El‐Fiky 2014.

Methods	A cohort study of methylphenidate use for 6 weeks
Participants	Number of participants screened: 31 Number of participants included: 31 Number of participants followed up: not stated Number of withdrawals: not stated Diagnosis of ADHD: DSM‐5 (subtype: combined (70.9%), hyperactive‐impulsive (6.5%), inattentive (22.6%)) Age: females: mean 8.2 (SD 3), range 5‐14 years old. Males: mean 8.4 (SD 2.2), range 6‐14 years IQ: mean: females: 100.8, males: 106.5 Sex: 21 males, 10 females Methylphenidate‐naïve: not stated Ethnicity: not stated Country: Egypt Comorbidity: oppositional defiant and conduct disorders: 11 (35.4%); specific phobic disorders: 3 (9.6%); childhood depression: 2 (6.5%), multiple comorbid problems (of conduct, agoraphobia, social and specific phobias): 2 (6.5%) Comedication: not stated Sociodemographics: not stated Inclusion criteria No contra‐indications to stimulant's therapy DSM diagnosis 5‐15 yo Both sexes Consent of parents Exclusion criteria IQ below 90 Chronic general medical conditions Forms of pervasive developmental or tics disorder Epilepsy Previous poor response or intolerance to stimulants Non‐consenting families
Interventions	Methylphenidate type: not stated Mean methylphenidate dosage: male: 0.75 mg/kg (SD 0.12); female: 0.76 mg/kg (SD 0.16) Administration schedule: not stated Time points: not stated Duration of intervention: 6 weeks Treatment compliance: not stated
Outcomes	Non‐serious adverse events: Measure method: Stimulant Drug Side Effects Rating Scale of Barkley
Notes	Sample calculation: not clear, but authors stated: "A pilot study involving 10 subjects (8 males, 2 females) was conducted to determine size and selection methods, interrater reliability and applicability of tools, and dose ranges of methylphenidate (0.4‐1 mg/kg)." Ethics approval: not stated Funding/vested interests/authors' affiliations: not stated Any withdrawals due to adverse events: not clearly stated, but no mention of dropouts Key conclusions of the study authors: no statistically significant gender differences; females recorded less improvement and showed more 'talk less' and 'less interest' as side effects. Conclusive evidence for the role of gender in ADHD require bypassing methodological limitations as well as confounding factors. Comments from the study authors: since the above mentioned gender differences were less apparent than expected in the absence of gender‐by‐ADHD interaction, they can be attributed to many confounding factors than modification of ADHD effect by gender Exclusion of methylphenidate non‐responders/children who have previously experienced adverse events on methylphenidate: yes Supplemental information attempted to retrieve, but no contact information for the authors found