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Cutaneous Adverse Effects of Lithium

Epidemiology and Management

  • Therapy in Practice
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American Journal of Clinical Dermatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Acneiform eruption, psoriasis, folliculitis, and maculopapular eruption have been described as adverse reactions to lithium therapy. In controlled studies, patients treated with lithium developed more cutaneous reactions, particularly acne and psoriasis, than patients receiving other psychotropics, with a prevalence in lithium-treated patients as high as 45%. Male patients taking lithium are more susceptible to developing cutaneous reactions than their female counterparts. Lithium tends to worsen or precipitate cutaneous conditions that are characterized by the pathological findings of neutrophilic infiltration. As lithium-related cutaneous adverse effects can be distressing to patients and may affect medication compliance, attention should be paid to skin problems in patients receiving lithium therapy. Management without cessation of lithium therapy is usually feasible except in some patients with psoriasis that is resistant to treatment. Paradoxically, therapeutic effects of topically applied lithium have been noted in seborrheic dermatitis and recurrent herpes infections.

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Acknowledgements

No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this manuscript.

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  1. Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Chi Keung Yeung &  Henry Hin Lee Chan

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  1. Chi Keung Yeung
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  2. Henry Hin Lee Chan
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Correspondence to Henry Hin Lee Chan.

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Yeung, C.K., Chan, H.H.L. Cutaneous Adverse Effects of Lithium. Am J Clin Dermatol 5, 3–8 (2004). https://doi.org/10.2165/00128071-200405010-00002

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