Bulimia nervosa and alcohol dependence. A case report of a patient enrolled in a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Bulimia nervosa and alcohol use disorders frequently co-occur. A review of the literature, however, reveals a paucity of information on treatment of patients with these comorbid conditions. We present a case report of a 34-year-old Caucasian female with a 20-year history of bulimia nervosa with co-occurring alcohol dependence, who participated in a randomized placebo-controlled medication augmentation trial for bulimia nervosa. The patient served as a pilot subject who met the exclusionary criterion of alcohol dependence, but received all the assessment and intervention procedures of the clinical trial for bulimia nervosa. Despite double-blind random assignment to a placebo condition, the patient's symptoms of bulimia nervosa substantially improved over the course of the 5-week efficacy trial. We hypothesize that this improvement was due to concurrent abstinence from alcohol rather than a placebo effect.
Daniels
E S
ES
Department of Psychiatry, Yale Psychiatric Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Masheb
R M
RM
Berman
R M
RM
Mickley
D
D
Grilo
C M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002032:Bulimia / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors