[Rationalized lithium adjustment by load-test (author's transl)]

The lithium blood level 24 hrs after a priming dose of lithium is a prognosticator for the therapeutic dosage required. Exactly 24 hrs following the intake of 24 mval lithium (lithium carbonate, retard form) venous blood serum is analyzed for lithium content. The necessary therapeutic dose can be inferred from a regression line which shows the negative interrelation between the 24 hr value and the therapeutic quantity of lithium necessary to achieve a blood level of 0.9 mval/1 under steady state conditions. Low 24 hr levels require high maintenance doses and vice versa. This procedure shortens the time of dose adjustment and avoids undesirable side-effects in the beginning of treatment which otherwise are not seldom the cause for the cessation of lithium intake.