Dueñas Disotuar Yunior, Murray Hurtado Mercedes, Rubio Morell Belén, Murjani Bharwani Hima S, Jiménez Sosa Alejandro
Servicio de Pediatría. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias..
Servicio de Psiquiatría. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias..
Nutr Hosp. 2015 Nov 1;32(5):2091-7. doi: 10.3305/nh.2015.32.5.9662.
to determine the characteristics of pediatric patients suffering from eating disorders that were hospitalized at Hospital Universitario de Canarias.
a retrospective study in a cohort of pediatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders and admitted in our area was developed during the last seven years.
out of 35 patients in our study, 85.7 % were women, onset average age 13.5. 77.1% of the cases were diagnosed as anorexia nervosa- restrictive type. The most frequent analytical alterations, detected when patients were in hospital, consisted in a drop in plasma levels in retinol binding protein (RBP)- in 57.6% of the cases- and D hypovitaminosis- in 46.9 % of them: the use of high - calories supplements was required in 71.4% of patients during hospitalization. The average weight gain was higher when the body mass index (BMI) was smaller at patient's admission to hospital (p = 0,006). Conclussions: eating disorders are increasing in pediatric age: puberty is a special vulnerable period for its development, as well as medical complications secondary to malnutrition. Admission to hospital is an essential tool for handling many cases; taking the necessary monitoring leading to a weight increase, preventing complications in nutritional support and tackling the underlying psychopathology. Diagnosis and a precocious treatment are crucial to avoid an excessive weight loss and more complications.
