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Renal side effects of lithium: The importance of the serum lithium level

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Abstract

Patients given long-term treatment with lithium often develop an impairment of renal water reabsorption which may lead to clinically significant adverse reactions. A convenient measure of this impairment may be obtained using the ratio of urine volume (V) divided by lithium clearance (CLi). When data from a large group of patients were recalculated, this ratio showed a statistically significant correlation with the serum lithium level. This finding supports the suggestion that patients might advantageously be maintained at lower serum levels than those commonly employed.

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Vestergaard, P., Thomsen, K. Renal side effects of lithium: The importance of the serum lithium level. Psychopharmacology 72, 203–204 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431657

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431657

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