Emergency Department Management of Eating Disorder Complications in Pediatric Patients

Emergency Department Management of Eating Disorder Complications in Pediatric Patients is organized by EB Medicine.

Publication Date: Feb 02, 2020
CME Expiration Date: Mar 03, 2023

Description:
Although eating disorders are on the psychiatric spectrum, they can have serious associated medical complications. Patients with eating disorders may present with complaints common to the emergency department such as abdominal pain, chest pain, syncope, or palpitations, often making management of these patients a challenge. This issue outlines the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders, reviews common physical examination findings associated with eating disorders, and discusses the treatment of acute medical complications of eating disorders, with a specific focus on the pathophysiology and management differences between a patient with an eating disorder and an otherwise healthy patient. You will learn:
• Common chief complaints in patients with an eating disorder
• How to use the SCOFF questionnaire as part of the history to help identify patients with an eating disorder
• Diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
• Key physical examination findings (eg, sialadenosis, dental erosion, enamel loss, Russell sign, lanugo) that will help make the diagnosis
• Physiologic differences between a patient with an eating disorder and an otherwise healthy patient
• Which laboratory studies should be ordered for all patients with an eating disorder, and when additional studies are warranted
• General guidelines for the management of pediatric patients with eating disorders, including how to manage physiologic instability, electrolyte disturbances (eg, refeeding syndrome), and surgical emergencies (eg, Boerhaave syndrome, pneumomediastinum)
• Indications for inpatient hospitalization of a patient with an eating disorder