title: [Treatment of eating disorders during hospitalization: presentation of a hospital intensive care program in pediatric age].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to present a hospital intensive care program for patients affected by a severe eating disorders, with a significant loss of weight (BMI<15 and weight less than 25° centile), severe medical complications (orthostatic hypotension, bradycardia <40 bpm or tachycardia >110 bpm or inability to sustain core body temperature), abnormal laboratory data, especially electrolyte imbalance and refusal to take food and fluids.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our study we reported 2 year follow-up of 16 patients treated with the hospital intensive care program between 2007 and 2008 in our department.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proposed program was proved an efficient method in a critical phase of the alimentary behavior disorders. It was possible for all the patients to avoid alternative feeding techniques (enteral or parenteral) and to obtain a correct alimentation with a satisfactory improvement of clinical conditions. Eight patients (50%) fully recovered. 5 patients (31.25%) had a significant improvement reaching a BMI>18.5 and one of them had a regular menstrual cycle, too. However in this group of patients a strict modality to alimentation and concern about weight and physical appearance remain. In 3 patients (18.5%) the BMI is still low and amenorrhea persists.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hospital intensive care program, inspired by the cognitive-behavioral model, through a food rehabilitation and a psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational help, lets the patients and their family understand and modify the dysfunctional patterns, experimenting a right modality to approach alimentation, with a satisfactory improvement in clinical conditions.
authors.affiliation: Unità Operativa di Neuropsichiatria dell'Infanzia e dell'Adolescenza Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: D'Argenio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zaccagnino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fazzi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003422:Critical Care; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans