background Anorexia nervosa (an) is associated with a number of life-threatening complications. Sometimes there are good reasons for admitting an anorexia nervosa patient to a general hospital for treatment as an inpatient. Therefore, there needs to be optimal collaboration between psychiatrists treating the patient and the medical staff at the general hospital.
aim To obtain insight into the admission criteria and other possible factors that play a role in the physician’s decision to admit a patient with anorexia nervosa for inpatient treatment in a general hospital.
method Internists and residents-internal medicine completed a questionnaire about admission criteria and, where applicable, about threshold values for these criteria. The physicians were also asked to judge two case vignettes. In addition, they were questioned about other factors that influenced their views on the admission of patients with anorexia nervosa to a general hospital and about their attitude to this patient-group, their experience of treating patients with anorexia nervosa and their awareness of a need for a guideline. The data were collected at the annual Dutch congress for internists at Maastricht.
results In total 78 congress attendees responded to the questionnaire; 47% were internist and 53% were resident-in-training. Agreement was greatest with regard to the following admission criteria (top 5): 1. serum potassium (threshold value <2.5 mmol/l was the criterion selected most); 2. arrhythmia; 3. hypoglycemia; 4. heart rate (threshold value <40 bpm was chosen most); 5. prolonged qt interval on an ECG. According to the two fictitious cases, the reason for admitting a patient with anorexia nervosa with milder symptoms was influenced by ‘attitude’. Half of the respondents pointed out that the patient’s cooperation plays a role in the decision to admit a patient with an eating disorder.
conclusion Respondents reached a consensus regarding several admission criteria but the threshold values they gave varied substantially. Attitude towards the patient-group can sometines influence the decision to admit a patient with anorexia nervosa to a general hospital. Internists and residents-in-training indicated they require detailed, carefully compiled guidelines which take into consideration the expected results and which emphasise the importance of obtaining the patient’s cooperation.