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  • Title: A lithium clinic for bipolar patients: 2-year outcome of the first 148 patients.
    Author: Licht RW, Vestergaard P, Rasmussen NA, Jepsen K, Brodersen A, Hansen PE.
    Journal: Acta Psychiatr Scand; 2001 Nov; 104(5):387-90. PubMed ID: 11722321.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the outcome for the first 148 patients referred to a lithium clinic. METHOD: Two-year follow-up data from treatment charts are reported for all patients entering a lithium clinic in the study period. RESULTS: Lithium was given as the only mood stabilizer in 132 (89.2%) of the cases. Thirty-two (21.6%) patients were readmitted with a new affective disorder episode. Twenty-nine (19.6%) patients discontinued treatment prematurely. Variables predicting the recurrence of new affective disorder episodes as well as premature discontinuation of treatment were identified. CONCLUSION: The majority of bipolar patients received lithium for prophylaxis against recurrent affective disorder episodes. The outcome was moderate but comparable to the 30-40% improvement usually reported in follow-up studies of bipolar patients given long-term prophylactic treatment with lithium. Better long-term treatment results for bipolar patients depend on both the development of more effective mood stabilizing drugs or drug combinations and the improvement of patients' adherence to treatment.
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