These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Effects of chronic lithium treatment on renal function.
    Author: Tredget J, Kirov A, Kirov G.
    Journal: J Affect Disord; 2010 Nov; 126(3):436-40. PubMed ID: 20483164.
    Abstract:
    INTRODUCTION: Lithium treatment is associated with renal side effects which vary from mild nephrogenic diabetes insipidus to end stage renal disease (ESRD). A review of the literature suggests that ESRD is a very rare side effect, caused after very long-term lithium treatment, and that it might be preventable if lithium is stopped early. METHODS: Sixty-one patients were treated with lithium for a mean of 15.6 years (range 3-32, SD=6.4). Their kidney function was monitored at an Affective Disorders Clinic for a mean of 11.5 years (range 2-29, SD=5.4). We estimated their glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the end of monitoring. As a control group we used 53 patients who received ECT at our hospital, and had not taken lithium, and nine patients from the same clinic who were taking other mood-stabilisers. RESULTS: Lithium patients had lower eGFR compared to controls: 66.1 vs. 75.0 mL/min/1.73 m2, p=0.0006 after controlling for age and gender. The percentage of patients with an eGFR<60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (grade 3 chronic kidney disease) was 34.4%, vs. 13.1% in the controls, and was much increased compared to the general population in the respective age ranges. There was a modest but non-significant correlation between the number of years that patients had taken lithium and their eGFR, (beta=-0.177, B=-0.43, p=0.1). One patient reached an eGFR of 28 mL/min/1.73 m2 and her lithium was stopped. One patient required dialysis 6 years after leaving the clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Lithium causes a modest decline in renal function. However the available research suggests that ESRD is a very rare complication of long-term lithium treatment, affecting ∼1% of patients who have taken lithium for over 15 years.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]