Bipolar disorder and medication: adherence, patients' knowledge and serum monitoring of lithium carbonate

Authors

  • Camila de Souza Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto; WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development
  • Kelly Graziani Giacchero Vedana Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto; WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development
  • Bruna Paiva do Carmo Mercedes Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto; WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development
  • Adriana Inocenti Miasso

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000200021

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: this study featured patients with affective bipolar disorder who were making use of lithium and received care at an outpatient care center located in a country town in the state of Sao Paulo in 2009; it assessed the adherence and knowledge of these patients in relation to the medication prescribed to them and verified the proportion of blood tests performed per year in the service, for each individual, to measure lithium levels in the blood. METHOD: descriptive study with quantitative approach, involving 36 participants. Structured interviews and review of medical records were used for data collection and descriptive statistics for data analysis. RESULTS: difficulties in reporting the dosage of the medication prescribed and a high rate of non-adherence were identified among the participants. None of the participants in the study was submitted to two tests a year to measure lithium levels in the blood, which is the minimum proportion of tests recommended by the literature for maintenance treatment using lithium carbonate. CONCLUSION: this study highlights the critical factors for the promotion of patients' safety in monitoring lithium drug therapy.

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Published

2013-04-01

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 2 (2013)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Bipolar disorder and medication: adherence, patients’ knowledge and serum monitoring of lithium carbonate . (2013). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 21(2), 624-631. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000200021