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Case Reports
. 2023 May 1;15(5):e38370.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.38370. eCollection 2023 May.

Lithium-Induced Sialorrhea

Bamidele O Johnson  1 , Oluwaseun Oke  1 , Christian Nwabueze  1 , Muhammad Azam  1 , Christianah Y Ogunlesi  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Lithium-Induced Sialorrhea

Bamidele O Johnson et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Lithium is a mood stabilizer frequently used in psychiatry to treat bipolar disorder. Because lithium has a narrow therapeutic index, it requires frequent monitoring for its toxicity. Lithium toxicity requires monitoring of serum lithium and clinical assessment by clinicians. Sialorrhea, also known as excessive drooling, hypersalivation, or ptyalism, is common among psychiatric patients. Sialorrhea, an infrequent and embarrassing side effect of lithium, has been reported at varying serum levels, either at subtherapeutic or in the normal range. Here, we present the case of a patient with sialorrhea associated with oral lithium therapy at the subtherapeutic serum level.

Keywords: bipolar disorder; gaba; glycopyrrolate; manic; nmda; ptyalism; sialorrhea.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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