What you need to know about your Eating Disorders Patients

Excellent article on eating disorders, applicable to other staved patients too.

1. Low blood pressure and bradycardia can be norm. Don't be too aggressive with fluids as you can tip them into heart failure. 

2. Watch for cardiac arrhythmias.

3. Osteoporotic fractures happens in these young people.

4. Refeeding syndrome and cardiovascular collapse can occur from aggressive refeeding - reverse slowly. 

5. Liver dysfunction - watch the serum glucose

6. Liver dysfunction - watch the coagulation

7. Bulimics - can have normal weight/appearance

8. Bulimics - hypokalaemia and metabolic alkalosis

9. Bulimics - GIT complication of purging

MascolonM, et. al. What the emergency department needs to know when caring for your patients with eating disorders. Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Dec;45(8):977-81. Epub 2012 Jun 18.

Here's the article link