ABSTRACT: In contrast to other mental health disorders, eating disorders have a high prevalence of concomitant medical complications. Specifically, patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) have a litany of medical complications which are commonly present as part of their eating disorders.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The clinical presentation and medical complications of severe anorexia nervosa among males were examined to further the understanding of this increasingly prevalent condition. Fourteen males were admitted to a medical stabilization unit over the study period.

ABSTRACT: Eating disorders are one of the “great masqueraders” of the twenty-first century. Seemingly healthy young men and women with underlying eating disorders present to emergency departments with a myriad of complaints that are not unique to patients with eating disorders.

ABSTRACT: Bulimia nervosa, often characterized by self-induced vomiting, is complicated by medical manifestations that affect nearly every organ system in the body. Effects range from superficial skin and dental findings to esophageal pathology, electrolyte abnormalities, cardiac arrhythmias, and in extreme cases, death.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to clarify the finding of liver function test abnormalities in anorexia nervosa (AN). Literature review and description of two representative cases of severe liver function test abnormalities from our medical stabilization unit. Abnormal elevation of liver function tests can occur during the process of refeeding patients with severe AN.

ABSTRACT: In this article, we will examine the most common emergency department presentations of eating disorder patients, review the pathophysiologic changes that lead to such presentations, and discuss the appropriate management of each patient. Literature review of current practices.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) by (1) a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight (eg, a body weight of <85% of expected body weight or a body mass index [BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared] of <17.5), (2) an intense fear of gaining weight, (3) a disturbance in the evaluation of one's own body shape, and (4) amenorrhea.

ABSTRACT: Bulimia nervosa has many medical complications associated with the different modes of purging utilized by these patients. There also are inherent medical complications associated with chronic purging when these behaviors are abruptly discontinued. These complications experienced by a patient with bulimia nervosa when they decide to cease purging, can be a strong deterrent to successfully treating this disorder.

ABSTRACT: Anorexia nervosa (AN) carries the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder largely attributable to sudden cardiac death and suicide. Controversy exists regarding the underlying mechanism of cardiac risk, whether QT prolongation is a consistent feature of the disorder and whether repolarization varies by disease severity. Some of the uncertainty may relate to a lack of standardized electrocardiography (ECG).