Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated medical-psychiatric treatment of major eating disorders. Design: Historical cohort study. Setting: Outpatient Unit for Protein Energy Malnutrition of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, “Federico II” University of Naples, time of study: January 1994 to December 1997 Participants: 147 female patients with restrictive or bulimic anorexia nervosa (mean age 19.8±13.7, BMI 14.7±2.1 Kg/m2) consecutively attending the outpatient unit between January 1994 and December 1997. Main outcome measures: Hospitalization and mortality rates were evaluated up to Jan 1999 with a minimum follow-up of 18 months. Results: There were 23 admissions to the Clinical Nutrition ward for 19 patients (i.e. 12.9%) mostly due to severe protein energy malnutrition, and 2 deaths, only 1 strictly related to anorexia (mortality rate 0.7%). Conclusions: Integrated outpatient medical-psychiatric treatment for major eating disorders is an effective and inexpensive procedure that reduces mortality and admissions due to medical complications in the medium term.
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De Filippo, E., Signorini, A., Bracale, R. et al. Hospital admission and mortality rates in anorexia nervosa: Experience from an integrated medical-psychiatric outpatient treatment. Eat Weight Disord 5, 211–216 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354448
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354448