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Acute Care of Eating Disorders

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Behavioral Emergencies for Healthcare Providers

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Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses that are often associated with potentially life-threatening psychiatric comorbidities and medical complications. Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rate of any mental illness [1]. About one-half to two-thirds of all deaths seen in individuals with EDs are due to suicide or cardiac causes, both of which are likely to initially present to an emergency department or other acute-care settings. Given that the majority of individuals with EDs do not readily self-disclose their illness to health-care providers, it is imperative that all providers be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of EDs and maintain a high index of suspicion for associated complications. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) give a brief overview of the EDs, (2) discuss recognition of EDs and commonly associated complications, (3) describe the management of EDs and their complications in the acute setting, and (4) provide suggestions for appropriate disposition and referral decisions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Suzanne Dooley-Hash

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  1. Suzanne Dooley-Hash
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Correspondence to Suzanne Dooley-Hash .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/ The Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL, USA

    Leslie S. Zun

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz, Aurora, CO, USA

    Kimberly Nordstrom

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Michael P. Wilson

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Dooley-Hash, S. (2021). Acute Care of Eating Disorders. In: Zun, L.S., Nordstrom, K., Wilson, M.P. (eds) Behavioral Emergencies for Healthcare Providers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52520-0_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52520-0_19

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52520-0

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