Lithium use in octogenarians

Objectives To assess the tolerability and side-effect profile of lithium us e in a group of octogenarians attending a specialized lithium clinic. Methods This is a cross-sectional study looking at all patients of eighty y ears and over attending a lithium clinic. Charts were examined to assess re nal function, thyroid function and level of side-effects during their cours e of lithium treatment in order to assess the tolerability of this medicati on in octogenarians. Results Twelve patients of 80 years and over (with an average age of 83.6 y ears) were taking lithium for an average period of 53.7 months. They had a mean serum level of 0.42 mmol/l. No patient had to discontinue lithium ther apy because of side-effects, even though some patients did develop transien t abnormalities of renal function. One patient developed diabetes insipidus . One female patient developed hypothyroidism. Conclusions Lithium was well tolerated and was administered safely to this cohort of octogenarians. Monitoring of serum lithium levels and kidney and thyroid function should preferably be done in the setting of a specialized lithium clinic. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.