Reduced morbidity after gradual discontinuation of lithium treatment for bipolar I and II disorders: a replication study
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to verify reduction of early affective morbidity by gradual, rather than rapid, discontinuation of lithium treatment. METHOD: For 78 patients with bipolar disorders, lithium treatment was discontinued either rapidly (over 1-14 days) or gradually (over 15-30 days)...
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Published in | The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 154; no. 4; pp. 551 - 553 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Washington, DC
American Psychiatric Publishing
01.04.1997
American Psychiatric Association |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to verify reduction of early
affective morbidity by gradual, rather than rapid, discontinuation of
lithium treatment. METHOD: For 78 patients with bipolar disorders, lithium
treatment was discontinued either rapidly (over 1-14 days) or gradually
(over 15-30 days). The effects of the two schedules were compared by
survival analysis of time to first recurrence. RESULTS: Median time to
recurrence was 5.6 times as long for gradual discontinuation (14.0 months)
as for rapid discontinuation (2.5 months). The ratios of the median
survival times for gradual and rapid discontinuation were similar in I and
II subtypes and in depression and mania (4-6:1). The polarities of the
episodes at onset and at first recurrence after lithium discontinuation
were 83.6% concordant. CONCLUSIONS: These results independently confirm a
reduction in morbid risk from slow discontinuation of lithium treatment for
bipolar disorders. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0002-953X 1535-7228 |
DOI: | 10.1176/ajp.154.4.551 |