Lithium treatment in bipolar adolescents: a follow-up naturalistic study

Gabriele Masi,1 Annarita Milone,1 Giulia Scrinzi,2 Maria Mucci,1 Valentina Viglione,1 Gabriella Bruni,1 Stefano Berloffa,1 Simone Pisano3 1IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Developmental Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology Unit, Pisa, Italy; 2Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 3Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy Background: Although lithium is currently approved for the treatment of bipolar disorders in youth, long term data, are still scant. The aim of this study was to describe the safety and efficacy of lithium in referred bipolar adolescents, who were followed up at the 4th (T1) and 8th (T2) month of treatment.Methods: The design was naturalistic and retrospective, based on a clinical database, including 30 patients (18 males, mean age 14.2±2.1 years).Results: Mean blood level of lithium was 0.69±0.20 mEq/L at T1 and 0.70±0.18 mEq/L at T2. Both Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and Children Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS) scores improved from baseline (CGI-S 5.7±0.5, C-GAS 35.1±3.7) to T1 (CGI-S 4.2±0.70, C-GAS 46.4±6.5; P