A patient with bipolar disorder staed lithium therapy. The maximum therapeutic level of lithium in serum is:
High-Yield Explanation
Concentrations considered to be effective and acceptably safe are between 0.6 and 1.5 mEq/L. The range of 1.0-1.5 mEq/L is ored for treatment of acutely manic or hypomanic patients. Serum concentrations of Li+ have been found to follow a clear dose-effect relationship between 0.4 and 1.0 mEq/L, but with a corresponding dose-dependent rise in polyuria and tremor as indices of adverse effects. Ref: Meyer J.M. (2011). Chapter 16. Pharmacotherapy of Psychosis and Mania. In B.C. Knollmann (Ed), Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 12e.