14 DAY TRIAL // Over the past few years, a large number of adverse side-effects were recorded in people who were under lithium-based therapy. Now, healthcare experts say that most of these instances may have been avoided if doctors had spoken to their patients more clearly about the drugs.
If patients are given clear guidance on how to take these drugs, then the chance of something going wrong are very slim, say University of Leeds medicine management experts.
They started conducting this work because an estimated 50,000 people in the United Kingdom alone are taking the chemical, for addressing conditions such as bipolar disorder, mania and depression.
If administered correctly, the substance has numerous beneficial effects, such as for example helping patients recovering from dementia from experiencing relapses in their condition.
But the drugs can cause serious harm to the human body if taken improperly. They can even kill, if taken in combination with other medication that affect lithium levels in the blood. Dehydration is also a major factor in triggering side-effects.
“It is very important that all patients prescribed lithium are monitored correctly and told how to recognize early signs of any problems,” explains Leeds professor of pharmacy Theo Raynor.
“This booklet, which we have helped the [National Patient Safety Agency] NPSA to produce, uses clear, unambiguous language to tell patients how they should take their medicine, the importance of regular check-ups and blood tests, and what warning signs to look out for,” he goes on to say.
The Agency received numerous reports of ill side-effects associated with lithium medication last year, and it gave hospitals and clinics in the UK a December 31, 2010 deadline to sort out their practices and procedures to avoid other such instances.
“The booklet explains to patients what type of tests they should have before starting lithium therapy and why they also need regular blood tests,” experts at the university say in a press release.
“Patients are told how long they should wait between taking their lithium and having a blood test so that the results are accurate, common factors that can cause their lithium blood levels to become too high, and how to recognize likely 'lithium poisoning',” the document adds.
Members of the research team that developed the new booklet worked with colleagues from the NPSA, in order to ensure that various passages in the instructions manual are in tune with the Agency's requirements.
The end result is a booklet that will hopefully make clear to both doctors and patients the DOs and DON'Ts of lithium therapy.