Podcast 795: Lithium Toxicity

Contributor: Peter Bakes, MD Educational Pearls: Lithium remains a commonly used medication for treating bipolar disorder Lithium toxicity can be acute, acute-on-chronic, or chronic  Measuring blood lithium level Therapeutic range of lithium is around 1.6-1.8 mEq/L >2 mEq/L is likely to cause significant toxicity >4 mEq/L necessitates lifesaving treatment The lethal dose of lithium is 700 mg/kg Lithium can have delayed absorption resulting in levels increasing during hospitalization Symptoms associated with acute lithium toxicity Gastrointestinal Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain Neurological Tremor, nystagmus, CNS depression (late finding) Cardiovascular Bradycardia, QT prolongation, EKG changes Treatment for lithium toxicity ABCs Get a good history GI Decontamination: Whole bowel irrigation if patient ingested extended-release tablets Dialysis Most effective treatment for lithium toxicity References Baird-Gunning J, Lea-Henry T, Hoegberg LCG, Gosselin S, Roberts DM. Lithium Poisoning. J Intensive Care Med. 2017;32(4):249-263. Hedya SA, Avula A, Swoboda HD. Lithium Toxicity. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Copyright © 2022, StatPearls Publishing LLC.; 2022. McKnight RF, Adida M, Budge K, Stockton S, Goodwin GM, Geddes JR. Lithium toxicity profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2012;379(9817):721-728.   Summarized by Mark O’Brien, MS4 | Edited by John Spartz, MD & Erik Verzemnieks, MD   The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ via online course modules. To access these and for more information, visit our website at https://emergencymedicalminute.org/cme-courses/ and create an account.  Donate to EMM today!