Combination Regimen With Lithium and Antipsychotic in Bipolar Manic Episodes: Impact on Adult Hospitalization Length of Stay

Objective To discern the demographic predictors in bipolar disorder (BD) manic patients receiving combination regimen, that is, lithium and antipsychotic, and to study the impact of a combination regimen on hospitalization length of stay (LOS) and total charges. Methods We used the nationwide inpatient sample (NIS) and included 1,435 adult inpatients with BD, manic episodes, and receiving lithium. Independent sample T-test with equality measures was used for LOS and total charges. Logistic regression model was used to find the odds ratio (OR) for the combination regimen to estimate the predictors with 95% CI. Results Among the inpatient sample, 34.5% received a combination regimen. There was statistically no significant difference between the combination regimen versus non-combination regimen cohorts by age and sex. A higher proportion of inpatients receiving combination regimen were from high-income families above 75th percentile (56.4%) and covered by private insurance (47.5%). Blacks (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.43-2.82) and hispanic (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.49-3.57) had higher odds of receiving a combination regimen compared to whites. The combination regimen significantly reduced LOS for BD, manic episode management by 2.8 days (95% CI 1.13-4.53 days, P < 0.001). There was statistically no significant mean difference in total charges (P = 0.495). Conclusion A combination regimen with lithium and antipsychotics significantly reduced LOS for BD manic episodes by 2.8 days compared to inpatients receiving lithium monotherapy. So, starting the combination regimen from the initial day of hospitalization should be considered as an effective model for faster response.