Development of acute myeloid leukaemia during lithium treatment

Development of acute myeloid leukaemia in 2 patients given long-term lithium treatment for affective illness is reported. The 1st was a 49-year-old man who was found to have acute myelomonocytic leukaemia after about 1 year of lithium treatment. He died 2 days after admission from haemorrhagic pericarditis. The 2nd patients was a 32-year-old woman given lithium for about 12 years. Thereafter she developed acute myeloid leukaemia within a few months. A remission induction regime with daunorubicin and cytosine arabinoside was successful and she is now in a full remission state.