title: Lithium toxicity: when is hemodialysis necessary?
abstract: A case of severe lithium intoxication is presented in which the function of the lithium pump was monitored, and was found to improve as the signs of lithium toxicity abated. The status of the lithium pump may provide an index of the severity of lithium intoxication. Since the lithium pump regulates the extrusion of lithium from the intracellular to the extracellular space, it is argued that the activity of the lithium pump is an index of the severity of lithium intoxication and crucial to the process of detoxification.
authors.affiliation: San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hauger
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yudofsky
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Meltzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017920:Antiporters; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000628:therapy*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006435:Renal Dialysis
chemical_list: D017920:Antiporters; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C045885:sodium-lithium countertransporter; D008094:Lithium