The authors note that despite a few reports in the literature indicating
that saliva lithium levels could adequately replace serum determinations in
monitoring patients being treated with lithium salts, this procedure has
not received much clinical application. A study of 20 patients investigated
correlations between serum and mixed saliva and parotid fluid lithium
levels and documented the reliability of this procedure. The authors
suggest that an individual patient's ratio of serum to saliva
concentrations should be calculated and used as a constant in the
determinations. Patients can collect saliva samples and send them to the
laboratory prior to their visits, decreasing the facility's sample
collection costs and the patients' inconvenience and discomfort.Abstract Teaser