Abstract
A survey of the current practice of lithium monitoring in a general hospital and the general practices it serves revealed erratic and infrequent assessments of serum lithium levels and also of renal and thyroid function. General practitioners, who in this study monitor approximately a third of the patients on lithium, performed worse than psychiatrists, but in neither case was there cause for complacency.
Highlights
A survey of the current practice of lithium monitoring in a general hospital and the general practices it serves revealed erratic and infrequent assessmentsof serum lithium levels and of renal and thyroid function
Compromised renal function reduces the clearance of lithium
This study aimed to assess the current practice of lithium monitoring in hospital and general practice in Gateshead, and to investigate the frequency of renal and thyroid assessments
Summary
A survey of the current practice of lithium monitoring in a general hospital and the general practices it serves revealed erratic and infrequent assessmentsof serum lithium levels and of renal and thyroid function. The British National Formulary (BNF; British Medical Association & Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1995) currently recommends monitoring serum lithium concen trations at three-monthly intervals in stabilised regimes, aiming for plasma concentrations be tween 0.4 and 1.0 mmol/1. Six-monthly monitoring of urea and electrolytes and thyroid function is generally accepted as sufficient in stable regimes without complications (Gelder et al, 1996). This study aimed to assess the current practice of lithium monitoring in hospital and general practice in Gateshead, and to investigate the frequency of renal and thyroid assessments
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