Patients With Anorexia Nervosa: Outcome Inpatient Care

Abstract

Introduction

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by self-induced starvation coupled with fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image. Its treatment is complex and challenging, and sometimes hospitalization is needed.

Santa Maria Hospital's Eating Disorders Unit (SMH-EDU) is a multidisciplinary team, formed in 1989, that provides both outpatient and inpatient treatment.

Objective

To present and discuss SMH-EDU's AN treatment and its results.

Methods

Revision and statistical analysis of all hospitalized AN’ patients’ clinical files, from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014. Treatment outcome was assessed by BMI variation.

Results

A total of 45 admissions (41 patients) were analysed: 75.65% had AN restricting type and 24.45% had AN purging type. All patient were females, with median age of 27 years old (range 12–57 years). Average admission BMI was 14.51 kg/m² (ranging from 11.19 to 17.77 kg/m²). The mean lengths of stay were 39 days. Thirty-six percent of the patients had at least one previous hospitalization. Only 2 patients were readmitted at SMH-EDU: triple readmissions. The mean time between the beginning of the disorder and the admission was 111 months (ranging 2 to 408 months). Average discharged BMI was 16.32 kg/m² (ranging from 13.24 to 19.11 kg/m²).

Conclusion

Inpatient treatment for AN at SMH-EDU is considered only for those patients whose disorder has not improved with appropriate outpatient treatment. Therefore, most inpatients at SMH-EDU have disorders of high severity, as demonstrated in our results.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.