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Bipolar disorder - Management
How should I manage someone with lithium toxicity?
- Stop lithium therapy and refer the person urgently to secondary care.
- There is no specific antidote to lithium poisoning. In secondary care the treatment is supportive and lithium levels are normally redetermined every 6–12 hours.
Basis for recommendation
- Referral to secondary care is recommended because the person will require supportive treatment. This may include measuring their lithium levels every 6–12 hours, and administering generous amounts of sodium salts and fluids. Depending on the severity, dialysis may be required [NPIS, 2005].
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