Time to lithium: A case register study of lithium initiation in bipolar disorder
Rattachement africain : gb. Niveau de preuve : code pays fourni par la source.
Le résumé fourni par la source
BACKGROUND: Lithium monotherapy has been recommended as first-line maintenance or long-term pharmacological therapy for bipolar disorder (BD). Previous research has linked early lithium use with better outcomes for people with BD. Despite extensive evidence as an effective treatment for BD, lithium prescribing continues to decline. AIMS: Our primary aim was to determine the time between initial assessment by mental health services and lithium initiation in people with BD who were prescribed and concordant with lithium. Secondary objectives included determining the time between the first assessment and recorded BD diagnosis, number of prior mood episodes, polarity when lithium was prescribed and number of antipsychotics before lithium initiation. METHODS: Free-text clinical notes were extracted from a de-identified electronic health record database. Eligible records comprised adults with a BD diagnosis who were concordant with lithium treatment. RESULTS: Eighty-eight people were identified, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Median time between first assessment and lithium initiation was 659 days. Median time between first assessment and BD diagnosis was 220 days, with a median of 2.5 mood episodes and 2 antipsychotics prescribed prior to lithium. Around 30% of people presented with manic symptoms at the time of lithium prescription. There is a significant delay between first contact with services and initiation of lithium in people with BD. CONCLUSIONS: This highlights the potential for earlier intervention with lithium, which could improve outcomes for people with BD.
Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.
Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Time to lithium: A case register study of lithium initiation in bipolar disorder
- Date Crossref
- 13/02/2026
- Éditeur
- SAGE Publications
- Type
- journal-article
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
-
King's College London Department of Psychosis Studies pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
-
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust TREAT Service pays non établi dans la noticeÉtablissement de santé
-
The Francis Crick Institute pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
-
University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
-
Imperial College London Department of Brain Sciences pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
-
Schmack Lab pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
Department of Psychosis Studies — King's College London, TREAT Service — South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust et The Francis Crick Institute, avec 3 autres affiliations.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.