[Complications of combined use of lithium salts and neuroleptics in patients with endogenous psychoses].

The present study deals with side effects following combined lithium-neuroleptic treatment in 60 manic and manic-delusional patients with manic-depressive illness, schizoaffective psychoses and shift-like schizophrenia. The author studied 238 independent courses of combined therapy and compared them with 146 courses of treatment with neuroleptics alone and 43 courses of lithium therapy. Pharmacological and clinical studies make it possible to divide all side effects into three groups: typical neuroleptic and lithium side effects and neuroleptic-lithium ones. The latter were observed in 6.3% of all courses of combined therapy. The author describes severe neurotoxic reactions in two patients, mild persistent psychoorganic (encephalopathic) syndrome in seven patients and some other special side effects. Practically all complications were reversible and occurred significantly more frequently in schizoaffective and schizophrenic patients than in manic-depressive ones.