Skip to main content

Table 2 Monitoring tests done and frequency of monitoring recorded for different medications

From: Safety monitoring of treatment in bipolar disorder in a tertiary care setting in Sri Lanka and recommendations for improved monitoring in resource limited settings

Monitoring investigation

Lithium testing percentage at 6 months, 1 year and testing frequency (n = 164)

Carbamazepine (n = 6)

Valproate (n = 119)

Newer antipsychotics (n = 151)

Serum drug concentration

75 (45.7%) in last 6 months

ND

ND

NR

96 (58.5%) in the last year

Frequency – once in 13 months

Serum Creatinine/ urea

30 (18.3%) in the last 6 months

1 record in the last year

NR

NR

39 (23.8%) in the last year

Frequency – once in 33 months

Full Blood Count (FBC)

NR

1 record in the last year

9 (7.6%) in the last year

NR

Electrolytes

34 (20.7%) in the last year

1 record in the last year

NR

NR

Frequency – once in 5 years

TSH

30 (18.3%) in the last year

NR

NR

NR

Frequency – once in 5 ½ years

Serum Calcium

ND

NR

NR

NR

Liver function tests

NR

ND

19 (16%) in the last year

NR

Fasting blood glucose

NR

NR

23 (19.3%) in the last year

31 (20.5%) in the last year

Fasting lipid profile

NR

NR

14 (11.8%) in the last year

13 (8.6%) in the last year

  1. NR Not required, ND Not done