More frequent lithium testing associates with lower hospital admission rate for bipolar disorder - what this tells us about GP practice engagement with this group

Holland, D.; Healy, A.; Stedman, M.; Duff, C.; Fryer, A.; Yung, A.; Bailey, S.

Abstract

Background and aims.– Lithium treatment is a cornerstone of bipolar
affective disorder management.
We determined how frequency of lithium level checks at GP (family) practice level relates to psychiatric admission rate for bipolar
affective disorder relapses.
Methods.– We determined from 103 GP practices in one area
of England (Stoke-on-Trent/North Staffordshire), the relation
between the interval between GP lithium level blood tests and psychiatric admission rate (1st January 2014 to 31st December 2014).
Results.– The data fell into six groups (see Fig. 1), the highest being
a test rate more than 59 tests/1000 people on the severe enduring
illness (SMI) register (all patients), the lowest being a test rate less
than 20 tests/1000 people on the SMI register. SMI register size at
the GP practice varied from 11 to 129 people.
The more frequently the tests were requested, the lower the
number of admissions/1000 patients on the SMI register. Annual
admission rate varied from 0.75/1000 patients on the SMI register
for the highest lithium test rate practices to 7.8/1000 SMI register
patients for the lowest test rate practices.
Conclusions.– We have demonstrated that higher frequency of
lithium testing relates to lower hospital admission rate for relapse
of bipolar affective disorder. We propose that lithium testing may
act as a barometer of patient experience and patient/professional
engagement at GP practice level with attendant impact on hospital
admission rate.
Disclosure of interest.– The authors have not supplied a conflict of
interest statement.

Citation

Holland, D., Healy, A., Stedman, M., Duff, C., Fryer, A., Yung, A., & Bailey, S. (2019, April). More frequent lithium testing associates with lower hospital admission rate for bipolar disorder - what this tells us about GP practice engagement with this group. Presented at 27th European Congress of Psychiatry, Warsaw, Poland

• Presentation Conference Type: Speech
• Conference Name: 27th European Congress of Psychiatry
• Conference Location: Warsaw, Poland
• Start Date: Apr 6, 2019
• End Date: Apr 9, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2023
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/oral-communications/A8F94BD3D8E42F94F85979600CB65E79