title: Body fluid lithium measurements: severity of illness and prediction of outcome.
abstract: The authors measured lithium ion in saliva and serum 24 hr after a loading dose of lithium, and recorded the amount of lithium excreted in the urine during the 24-hr test period. Their results support previous work indicating a correlation between serum and mixed saliva lithium levels. On a subsample of manic patients, no correlation could be found between lithium retention and clinical outcome, age of onset, or pretreatment severity of illness. In addition, they were unable to confirm a prior report that the 24-hr postloading dose serum lithium level was a predictor of eventual therapeutic dosage.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000378:metabolism*; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D008094:Lithium