title: Cerebellar syndrome in a patient with pneumonia under lithium treatment: A case report.
abstract: We report the case of a 31-year-old man with bipolar disorder who was on a combination therapy of lithium, lamotrigine and escitalopram. Serum lithium level was within therapeutic range. Cerebellar symptoms such as dysarthria, ataxia, and dyskinesia developed in the patient following the pneumonia. Cerebellar syndrome was most likely due to lithium neurotoxicity, which was associated with additional factors such as acute febrile pneumonia, fever and hyponatremia. The reported case suggests that infections may increase the risk of cerebellar toxicity of lithium, even in the therapeutic doses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Talas Road, 38039-Kayseri, Turkey. sozsoy@erciyes.edu.tr
authors.forename: Saliha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozsoy
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Basturk
authors.forename: Ertugrul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Esel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001259:Ataxia / Q000139:chemically induced; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D018692:Antimanic Agents; D018020:Lithium Compounds