Lithium- and carbamazepine-associated sinus node dysfunction: nine-year experience in a psychiatric hospital

The cardiac effects of lithium and carbamazepine are considered rare, but both are known to induce sinus node dysfunction. The author presents the 9-year experience in a state mental hospital with lithium-induced sinus node dysfunction. Four of the five patients were also on carbamazepine. The clinical features of previously reported cases of lithium- and carbamazepine-associated sinus node dysfunction are reviewed. A role for carbamazepine in lithium-induced sinus node dysfunction is discussed.