{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T04:42:29Z","timestamp":1790743349517,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2010,5,20]],"date-time":"2010-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1274313600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Psychopharmacol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2010,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The use of lithium for the treatment of mania, prophylaxis of bipolar disorder and augmentation of antidepressants in treatment-refractory unipolar depression is supported by British Association for Psychopharmacology and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. We describe prescribing patterns with lithium in a large sample of patients with affective disorders. Data were collected during a baseline clinical audit of the quality of lithium monitoring, conducted by the Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health. Thirty-five National Health Service Trusts submitted data for 2776 patients with a diagnosis of affective illness (ICD10 F30\u201439), 1919 (69%) of whom had bipolar affective disorder. The last recorded lithium level was below the therapeutic range (&lt;0.4 mmol\/L) in one in 10 patients. Co-prescribing was common; 57% of bipolar patients were prescribed an antipsychotic and 77% of those with other affective disorders, an antidepressant. We conclude that serum lithium levels within the therapeutic range are maintained in the majority of patients. A high proportion of patients are co-prescribed other psychotropic drugs; such prescribing is consistent with evidence-based treatment guidelines and may reflect difficulty managing the symptoms of affective disorders with lithium monotherapy. A significant minority of patients prescribed lithium had a sub-therapeutic blood level and so may be at high risk of relapse.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881110367728","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2010,5,20]],"date-time":"2010-05-20T20:27:04Z","timestamp":1274387224000},"page":"1739-1746","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["Lithium in bipolar and other affective disorders: prescribing practice in the UK"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Carol","family":"Paton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, UK, Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health: POMH-UK (www.rcpscych. ac.uk\/pomh), The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Centre for Quality Improvement, UK,"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas RE","family":"Barnes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College Faculty of 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