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Encephalopathy with combined lithium-risperidone administration.

Boora K, Xu J, Hyatt J

ECMC - Psychiatry, Buffalo, NY 14215, USA. kboora@buffalo.edu

OBJECTIVE: Lithium-neuroleptics induced encephalopathy is a rare drug interaction. Here I am reporting a patient who developed reversible encepatholopathy with lithium-risperidone combination. METHOD: A single case report. RESULT: A patient of bipolar disorder, who presented with manic symptoms with psychotic feature, started with a combination of lithium and risperidone. Within few days, the patient developed encepatholopathy, which reversed upon discontinuation of lithium and risperidone. CONCLUSION: Combining lithium and neuroleptic is useful in treatment of bipolar disorder. However, encepatholapthy can be anticipated to result when lithium is used with high potency anti-psychotic such as haloperidol and risperidone and there are baseline EEG abnormalities.

Published 10 April 2008 in Acta Psychiatr Scand, 117(5): 394-5; discussion 396.
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