Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T03:57:11.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Impact of Lithium in South-West Scotland III. The Discontinuation of Lithium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

R. G. McCreadie ,
M. McCormick  and
D. P. Morrison
D. P. Morrison
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh), Crichton Royal Hospital, Dumfries. DG1 4TG
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A review in South-West Scotland of all patients prescribed lithium for the first time during the years 1972–82 showed that on average, 12 per 100,000 of the general population start this drug each year. By the end of the period, lithium had been stopped in 58% of patients; the most common reason for discontinuation was the development of side-effects, of which tremor was the most frequent. In only 15% was lithium stopped as it was considered no longer necessary; 44% of patients discontinued lithium within one year of starting it.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 1 , January 1985 , pp. 77 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baastrup, P. C., Poulson, J. C., Schou, M., Thomsen, K. & Amdisen, A. (1970) Prophylactic lithium: double-blind discontinuation in manic-depressive and recurrent depressive disorders. Lancet, 2, 326–330.Google Scholar
McCreadie, R. G. & Morrison, D. P. (1984) The impact of lithium in South-West Scotland. I Demographic and clinical findings. British Journal of Psychiatry. In press.Google Scholar
Morrison, D. P. & McCreadie, R. G. (1984) The impact of lithium in South-West Scotland. II A longitudinal study. British Journal of Psychiatry. In press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sashidharan, S. P. & McGuire, R. J. (1983) Recurrence of affective illness after withdrawal of long-term lithium treatment. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 68, 126–133.Google Scholar
Srinivasan, D. P. & Hullin, R. P. (1980) Current concepts of lithium therapy. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 24, 466–475.Google ScholarPubMed
World Health Organisation (1974) Glossary of Mental Disorders and Guide to their Classifications for use in conjunction with the International Classification of Diseases. Eighth Revision. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (1978) Mental Disorders: Glossary and Guide to their Classification in accordance with the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.