Drug Comparison
For educational purposes only — a decision-support tool, not a substitute for clinical judgment.
Side-by-side rubric across 96 psychiatric medications. Every rating traces to a verbatim primary-source quote — click any cell to see it.
How to read this tool ▾
Rating scale
– Favorable / lower than class baseline
± Minimal / equivocal
+ Low / uncommon
++ Moderate / common
+++ High / very common
++++ Very high / class-outlier
Frequency vs severity
F = frequency, S = severity. Each gets its own pill colored on the same traffic-light scale: green → blue → yellow → orange → red. Click any cell for incidence percentages and NNH.
Evidence tier
A Network meta-analysis / RCT / FDA label
B Cohort / registry / pooled label data
C Expert review / textbook / case series
Sourcing
Click any cell to see the verbatim source quote and citation. Missing data shows n/a.
Data depth
++ Graded — frequency + severity, primary-source traces
+ FDA label — §6 frequency only (dashed border). Click for sub-types.
Blank — not yet checked (not “absent”)
–±++++++++++ABCF = frequency · S = severity · Dashed border = FDA label only · Click cell for details
1 drug selected — Lithium(click to collapse)
1/4 selected
Lithium
Lithobid
Mood Stabilizer
FDA-approved indications
- Bipolar I — acute manic and mixed episodes (7+ years; monotherapy)
- Bipolar I — maintenance treatment (7+ years; monotherapy)
Off-label uses
- Cluster headache prophylaxis
- Augmentation of antidepressants in MDD
- Aggression/self-harm
Half-life18 to 36 hours
Decision GuideWhen to pick each / when to consider an alternative
Lithium
Consider when
- Bipolar mania — gold standard mood stabilizer with 60+ years of evidence; FDA-approved for acute mania and maintenance
- Anti-suicide benefit — only psychiatric medication with replicated evidence for reducing suicide risk across bipolar and MDD
- Bipolar maintenance preventing both mania and depression — strongest long-term relapse prevention data of any mood stabilizer
- Treatment-resistant depression augmentation — FDA-supported augmentation strategy; effective with SSRIs, SNRIs, and TCAs
- +1 more
Consider an alternative when
- Renal disease or progressive renal impairment — narrow therapeutic index with 95% renal excretion; nephrotoxicity cumulative
- Thyroid disease — dose-dependent hypothyroidism in 20–30% of patients; requires ongoing TSH monitoring
- Unreliable hydration or sodium intake — dehydration, low-sodium diets, and NSAIDs/ACEIs/ARBs precipitate toxicity
- Teratogenicity concern — Ebstein's anomaly risk (0.1–0.2%); cardiac ultrasound required if first-trimester exposure
- +1 more
| Axis | Lithium mood-stabilizer |
|---|---|
| Boxed Warnings | |
Suicidality (boxed warning) | |
| CNS | |
Sedation / somnolence | |
Activation / insomnia | |
Seizure risk | |
Cognitive dulling / anterograde amnesia | |
| Metabolic | |
Weight gain | |
Metabolic (glucose / lipids) | |
| Endocrine | |
Renal effects | |
| Autonomic | |
Sweating | |
| Cardiac | |
Cardiac conduction / AV block | |
Blood pressure elevation | |
Heart rate / tachycardia | |
| GI | |
Nausea / GI (general) | |
| Sexual | |
Sexual dysfunction | |
| Interactions | |
Serotonin syndrome risk | |
| Pregnancy | |
Teratogenicity | |
Lactation / breastfeeding safety | |
| Drug-specific / distinctive axes | |
Lithium toxicity (BOXED — narrow therapeutic index) only in Lithium | |
Thyroid (hypothyroidism > hyperthyroidism) only in Lithium | |
Hypercalcemia / hyperparathyroidism (distinctive) only in Lithium | |
Encephalopathic syndrome (lithium + neuroleptic) only in Lithium | |
Pseudotumor cerebri only in Lithium | |