Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 1983 Nov 19;64(22):875-6.

Toxic irreversible encephalopathy induced by lithium carbonate and haloperidol. A report of 2 cases

R Sandyk, M D Hurwitz
  • PMID: 6415823
Case Reports

Toxic irreversible encephalopathy induced by lithium carbonate and haloperidol. A report of 2 cases

R Sandyk et al. S Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Toxic irreversible encephalopathic syndromes developed in 2 patients treated with lithium carbonate and haloperidol. Symptoms consisted of lethargy, fever, tremulousness, confusion, and extrapyramidal and cerebellar dysfunction, accompanied by leucocytosis and elevated serum enzyme, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and fasting blood glucose levels. One patient suffered widespread irreversible brain damage; the other was left with persistent dyskinesias. Although causal factors have not been identified, this report and others in the literature suggest that diffuse irreversible encephalopathy may occasionally develop in individuals with abnormal brain sensitivity to the lithium carbonate/haloperidol combination. Evidence for this is based on the fact that in our patients and others mentioned in the literature the dosage and blood levels of lithium were not high.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources