title: Salivary lithium concentration--a tool for monitoring psychiatric patients.
abstract: Salivary and serum lithium concentrations were measured simultaneously in 118 manic-depressive patients. Lithium concentration in saliva was 2.24 +/- 0.35 times higher than in serum. An equation to calculate serum lithium concentration from salivary measurements was derived: Li serum = 0.36 Li saliva + 0.13. Psychotropic drugs had no effect on the salivary:serum ratio. Eighteen patients were followed for several weeks. A significant correlation coefficient between salivary and serum lithium concentrations was found in thirteen of the eighteen patients studied.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D008094:Lithium