Table 1.

Aspects covered in the questionnaire on monitoring of patients using lithium

Aspect	Item number	Items of question
Lithium serum level monitoring	1–8	Target values for: acute manic episode in adults (18–60 years old), maintenance treatment in adults, acute manic episode in elderly patients (> 60 years old), maintenance treatment in elderly Frequency of monitoring lithium serum levels during the first month, months 2–6 and per year
Monitoring of physical and laboratory parameters	9–25	Assessment of the following monitoring parameters before, during the first 6 months and during maintenance treatment Physical parameters: bodyweight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, pulse, waist circumference, electrocardiogram (ECG), pregnancy test, 24 h urine examination Laboratory parameters: creatinine, urea, albumin, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), parathyroid hormone (PTH), thyroxine (T4), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), bilirubin, sodium, potassium, calcium, full blood count, leukocytes, leukocyte differentiation, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (vLDL), triglycerides, fasting glucose
Local system for ensuring monitoring	26–35	Reasons to and not to monitor, assessment usage of guidelines or institutional protocols, responsible health care professional for monitoring, usage of laboratory protocols, method of inviting patients for monitoring
Background information	36–41	Gender, age, profession, institution of employment, years of lithium prescribing, country