Narrative review of inpatient nutritional management of anorexia nervosa with management recommendations for Australian tertiary health services.

BACKGROUND: Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) may experience life-threatening malnutrition-related complications requiring inpatient medical stabilisation. Several management guidelines have been developed but discrepancies exist because of limited high-level evidence. AIMS: To review the evidence base for recommendations contained in Victorian health services guidelines for the nutritional management of inpatients with AN. METHODS: MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched for published studies on the nutritional management of inpatients with AN, combined with a manual search through citations. Studies including patients with AN aged 16 years and older were included. Case reports, small case series of <10 patients, studies of nonmedical management and studies with an exclusive paediatric population were excluded. The search results were compared with AN inpatient medical management guidelines sourced from large tertiary health services across Victoria, Australia. RESULTS: The search yielded 584 studies, subsequently reduced to nine studies using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results suggest that commencing refeeding at a higher caloric value allows faster weight gain and shorter hospitalisation. Enteral tube feeding is preferential to parenteral nutrition because of infrequent and milder complications. Zinc supplementation showed a doubled rate of body mass index increase compared with placebo. Comparison with Victorian health services guidelines revealed inconsistent recommendations for high-calorie refeeding and micronutrient supplementation. CONCLUSION: The evidence supports high-calorie refeeding of 2000 kcal/day in AN inpatient medical management and zinc supplementation in improving the rate of weight restoration. This is inconsistently reflected in different Victorian health services guidelines. Updated national consensus guidelines could assist in improving consistency of evidence-based health care.

Coeliac disease in the 21st century: paradigm shifts in the modern age.

The epidemiology of coeliac disease (CD) is changing. Presentation of CD with malabsorptive symptoms or malnutrition is now the exception rather than the rule and, it now affects those underweight and overweight equally. In concert with these epidemiological shifts, the incidence of CD is increasing. These changing patterns of disease presentation are challenging traditional management paradigms, and clinicians now need to adapt to these changes and respond to the demands of an increasingly well-informed consumer population. This article aims to provide historical context to the epidemiological changes in CD, which provides context to direct future research. Changing definitions and diagnostic paradigms are complicating the management of CD. The gold standard of diagnosis, treatment goals, guidelines for follow-up, and the role of population screening in CD remain controversial and unresolved. Although the patient population is interested in new treatments for CD and alternatives to a gluten-free diet, most therapies are not yet widely available or sufficiently researched, and our understanding of the natural history of CD is limited despite a number of retrospective and population-based studies. The management of asymptomatic CD has only recently been examined despite up to half of patients now presenting with no or minimal symptoms. There is surprisingly little evidence to resolve many of these issues, and only with robust prospective studies will our understanding of the true natural history of coeliac disease be clarified.