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KMID : 0376119830100020025
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Medical Journal of the Red Cross Hospital
1983 Volume.10 No. 2 p.25 ~ p.31
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A Clinical Study for Lithium Mainteneance Therapy in Bipolar Affective Disorders
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Abstract
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Although there remains some controversial issues in the prophylactic effect of lithium therapy -of patients with affective disorders, the lithium maintenance therapy was widely believed to reduce the frequency of both manic and depressive relapses as well as amount of time spent in hospital.
To investigate the effectiveness of lithium `maintenance therapy, sixty one bipolar patients.(25 males and 36 females) were selected, who had received lithium maintenance therapy in the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Red Cross Hospital.
A Comparison by intra individual method was made between the period during which a patient was received an appropriate lithium carbonate and corresponding period immediately preceding the initiation of lithium treatment. Average period of observation was about 3+3 years, and the patients in this trial had received lithium for more than 18 months.
The results were obtained as follows:
1) The. mean age at onset was 24.5 and male to female ratio was 1 : 1.4. In clinical type, mania was observed more in male and depression was more -in female.
2) During lithium maintenance therapy, the average relapsing frequency of annual episodes were reduced from 1. 16±0. 09 to 0.61±0.07 and the duration also reduced from 9.34±0.76 to 4.74±0.06 weeks compared with pre-lithium period.
3) The mild side effects associated lithium maintenance . therapy were found in sixteen patients. Among these, nausea and vomiting (50.0%), and oral dryness(12.5%) were found most frequently.
4) As to the clinical effects. of the lithium maintenance therapy, twenty eight(47 9%) patients were good responded and, thirty four(39.3%) were moderate, but six(9.8%) were poor. Three patients had died, during observation period. Two of them had died with depression and .one patient died with unknown cause of physical origin:
5) The range of serum lithium, level of maintenance -therapy was 0.69±0. 13 mEgJL with 900 mg to 1,500 mg of daily doses.
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