Cerebellar syndrome in a patient with pneumonia under lithium treatment: A case report

We report the case of a 31-year-old man with bipolar disorder who was on a combination therapy of lithium, lamotrigine and escitalopram. Serum lithium level was within therapeutic range. Cerebellar symptoms such as dysarthria, ataxia, and dyskinesia developed in the patient following the pneumonia....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 2006-12, Vol.30 (8), p.1532-1534
Main Authors: Ozsoy, Saliha, Basturk, Mustafa, Esel, Ertugrul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antimanic Agents - adverse effects
Ataxia - chemically induced
Biological and medical sciences
Bipolar Disorder - drug therapy
Cerebellar Diseases - chemically induced
Cerebellar syndrome
Dyskinesias - etiology
Humans
Lithium
Lithium Compounds - adverse effects
Male
Medical sciences
Neuropharmacology
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Pneumonia
Pneumonia - complications
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease)
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Serum level
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Summary:We report the case of a 31-year-old man with bipolar disorder who was on a combination therapy of lithium, lamotrigine and escitalopram. Serum lithium level was within therapeutic range. Cerebellar symptoms such as dysarthria, ataxia, and dyskinesia developed in the patient following the pneumonia. Cerebellar syndrome was most likely due to lithium neurotoxicity, which was associated with additional factors such as acute febrile pneumonia, fever and hyponatremia. The reported case suggests that infections may increase the risk of cerebellar toxicity of lithium, even in the therapeutic doses.
ISSN:0278-5846
1878-4216
DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.05.003