ABSTRACT
Lithium salts and neuroleptic drugs were introduced for the treatment of mania, and tricyclic antidepressants, for depression. Lithium prophylaxis is universally considered the treatment of choice for recurrent bipolar illness. Long-term lithium treatment was at one time feared to damage kidney function and endanger patients’ lives. Clinical and laboratory monitoring of lithium treatment is important to maintain effective and safe therapy and to keep side effects to a minimum. There has been debate about the need for, and the frequency of, routine serum lithium determinations. The serum lithium concentration is one of the issues that patient and physician may profitably discuss; this serves a didactic purpose and improves compliance as patients are made aware of their co-responsibility for the treatment. In several of the studies, the mortality of the lithium-treated patients did not differ from that of the general population.
