Complications of Emergency Refeeding in Anorexia Nervosa: Case series and review

Complications of Emergency Refeeding in Anorexia Nervosa: Case series and review

Abstract

The refeeding syndrome is common among patients with anorexia nervosa. It may be lethal and has many manifestations. We report a case series of 14 anorexic patients admitted for feeding to a single British centre. There was a high prevalence of the refeeding syndrome, with three cases requiring higher dependency unit support and one death. We present a review of the refeeding syndrome in anorectics and highlight our impression that infection among such patients may be serious and under-recognised.

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Complications of Emergency Refeeding in Anorexia Nervosa: Case series and review

10th March 2016
PMID: 22041604
Authors Affiliations
G J Webb Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK
K Smith Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK Email: aminda.desilva@
F Thursby-Pelham Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK
T Smith Dept of Gastroenterology Southampton Univ. Hosp NHS Trust Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD
M A Stroud Dept of Gastroenterology Southampton Univ. Hosp NHS Trust Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD
A N De Silva Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK Email: aminda.desilva@ royalberkshire.nhs.uk

Complications of Emergency Refeeding in Anorexia Nervosa: Case series and review

Cite this article as:

Webb GJ, Smith K, Thursby-Pelham F, Smith T, Stroud MA, Da Silva AN. Complications of emergency refeeding in anorexia nervosa: case series and review. Acute Med. 2011;10(2):69-76. PMID: 22041604.

Complications of Emergency Refeeding in Anorexia Nervosa: Case series and review

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