Advanced Search

The American Journal of Psychiatry, VOL. 154, No. 4

REGULAR ARTICLES | April 01, 1997

Reduced morbidity after gradual discontinuation of lithium treatment for bipolar I and II disorders: a replication study

Am J Psychiatry 1997;154:551-553.

Article

text A A A

PDF of the full text article.

Abstract

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.

Figures in this Article

CME Activity

There is currently no quiz available for this resource. Please click here to go to the CME page to find another.

Submit a Comments

Please read the other comments before you post yours. Contributors must reveal any conflict of interest.
Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discertion of JBJS editorial staff.

* = Required Field

Comment Author(s)*(if multiple authors, separate names by comma)

Example: John Doe

Affiliation & Institution*

Comment Title*

Comment*

Cancel

Print
PDF
E-mail

Recipient(s) will receive an email with a link (good for 72 hours) to 'Reduced morbidity after gradual discontinuation of lithium treatment for bipolar I and II disorders: a replication study' and do not need to have American Journal of Psychiatry account to access the content.
Your Name:*
Example: John Doe

Email Address:* CC Me:
Enter your valid email address. Example: jdoe@example.com

Recipient's Email Address:*
Separate multiple email address with semi-colons (up to 5).

Subject:* 's American Journal of Psychiatry: 'Reduced morbidity after gradual discontinuation of lithium treatment for bipolar I and II disorders: a replication study'
Subject for your email.

Message:
(Optional, message will truncate at 1000 characters)

Processing your request... Please Wait...

Copyright © in the material you requested is held by The American Psychiatric Association (unless otherwise noted). This email ability is provided as a courtesy, and by using it you agree that you are requesting the material solely for personal, non-commercial use, and that it is subject to The American Psychiatric Association's Terms of Use. The information provided in order to email this topic will not be used to send unsolicited email, nor will it be furnished to third parties. Please refer to The American Psychiatric Association's Privacy Policy for further information.

Copyright © American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
Share
Get Citation

Reduced morbidity after gradual discontinuation of lithium treatment for bipolar I and II disorders: a replication study. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1997 Apr;154(4):551-553.

Download citation file:

RIS (Zotero)

EndNote

BibTex

Medlars

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

Copyright © American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
Reprints