Lithium Overdose
First Things First
- Metal similar to potassium, magnesium and sodium
- Currently used in treatment of bipolar disorder for the mania and as a mood stabilizer
- Narrow toxic-to-therapeutic range ratio
- Tablets and capsules
- 300-mg tablets have 8 mEq of lithium
- Also comes in 150-mg and 600-mg capsules
- Extended release, 300 mg, 450 mg
- Syrup has 8 mEq/5 mL.
- Normal serum level is 0.7-1.2 mEq/L.
- Mechanism of action is not well understood.
- May stabilize cell membranes
- Inhibits NE to interfere with cAMP
- Enhances effects of serotonin
- Rapidly absorbed into serum from GI tract and therefore peaks rapidly
- Syrup: 40 min
- Rapid release: 2-4 hr
- Extended release: 4-12 hrs
- Renal elimination 95%
- Sweat/saliva/milk: 5%
- Prolonged & delayed absorption
- Decreased elimination
- Intracellular lithium build-up
- It is not metabolized.
- No protein binding
- We reabsorb more when we are in a low-sodium or low-volume state.
- Lithium modulates signals affecting the cytoskeleton, thereby stabilizing moods.
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Last updated: April 28, 2010
Citation
"Lithium Overdose." Pocket ICU Management, PocketMedicine.com, Inc, 2010. Anesthesia Central, anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534168/all/Lithium_Overdose.
Lithium Overdose. Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc; 2010. https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534168/all/Lithium_Overdose. Accessed October 7, 2024.
Lithium Overdose. (2010). In Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc. https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534168/all/Lithium_Overdose
Lithium Overdose [Internet]. In: Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc; 2010. [cited 2024 October 07]. Available from: https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534168/all/Lithium_Overdose.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Lithium Overdose
ID - 534168
Y1 - 2010/04/28/
BT - Pocket ICU Management
UR - https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534168/all/Lithium_Overdose
PB - PocketMedicine.com, Inc
DB - Anesthesia Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -