Improvement after a drug is given does not isolate that drug’s contribution when toxin clearance is also occurring.
A patient with lithium toxicity and persistent unconsciousness underwent dialysis. EEG findings raised concern for nonconvulsive status epilepticus, and lorazepam was added. Recovery occurred while lithium concentrations declined and the EEG normalized.
This was an uncontrolled case with concurrent interventions. It cannot determine how much improvement resulted from antiseizure treatment, lithium removal or recovery from associated illness.
Align serial lithium values, dialysis, EEG findings and neurological examinations with medication times. The case supports considering persistent seizure activity during toxic encephalopathy. It does not establish lorazepam as an antidote to lithium or prove that either intervention alone explains recovery.
Source: PMC4308059, supplied full-text paper. Findings are paraphrased; case-review implications are an interpretation.
Related: Forensic Toxicology: expert analysis and case review.