[An update on inpatient treatment of anorexia nervosa: practical recommendations]. / Actualizaciones en el manejo intrahospitalario de la anorexia nerviosa: recomendaciones prácticas.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality, especially if it is associated with psychiatric and somatic comorbidity. Medical complications can be multiple and jeopardize the normal development of children and adolescents, even permanently. Although its prevalence is lower compared with other psychiatric disorders, its tendency to chronicity and the severity of its consequences are remarkable. Although outpatient treatment of anorexia is privileged as far as possible, the risks associated with poor response to treatment or lack of adherence of the patient or family, require the possibility of hospitalization at any time of the disease. We searched and analyzed the national and international literature available (especially clinical guidelines) about the indication for hospital treatment in AN and the interventions recognized as necessary and effective during hospitalization. Despite the lack of standardized criteria for hospitalization, the available information converge on the need for a multidisciplinary work by a specialist team, to make family interventions especially in adolescents and tailor treatment according to the individual physical, psychological and social needs.

Virtually Accompanied Eating in the Outpatient Therapy of Anorexia Nervosa.

BACKGROUND: Normalizing the eating pattern and weight recovery are the main objectives in treating anorexia nervosa (AN). Eating accompaniment through shared mealtimes is a common strategy in eating disorder management programs. This study aims to examine the impact on weight gain of an internet-delivered meal support group on patients with AN who were under ambulatory treatment with the Eating Disorders Unit of the UC Christus Health Network, Chile. METHODS: An observational study of 54 female patients with AN diagnosis who participated in Online Meal Support Groups (OMSGs) three times a week was performed. Their weight, BMI and BMI%, was reviewed at the beginning of the sessions and at 45- and 90-day follow-up. RESULTS: Patients showed significant weight gain during follow-up. At the 90-day follow-up, patients had gained 4.41 (SD ± 2.82) kg with an effect size of -1.563. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically significant differences were found between the weight at the beginning of the intervention and at the 45- and 90-day follow-up, meaning that eating support online groups may be an effective intervention for weight gain and maintenance in patients with AN. These findings highlight the viability of developing cost-effective and more accessible interventions for AN and thus help reduce the duration of untreated disease and its consequences.

Severity and Endurance in Eating Disorders: An Exploration of a Clinical Sample From Chile.

INTRODUCTION: One in five patients with eating disorders (EDs) may take a lasting course. It has been proposed that this enduring group exhibits increased severity, such as low treatment response, severe symptomatology, and poor quality of life. However, there is no consensus defining this group. Moreover, most of the literature comes from high-income societies and may not apply to developing countries. AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the association between endurance (length of ED) and severity (previous treatments, hospitalizations, medical complications, symptomatology and clinical impairment) in individuals with EDs from Chile. In addition, it aimed to explore the association between endurance and delays seeking specialized treatment. METHODS: Forty-one women with EDs (16 with anorexia nervosa, 11 with bulimia nervosa, 10 with binge eating disorder and 4 with other specified EDs) completed a social-demographic survey, the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire, and the Clinical Impairment Assessment. Also, Body Mass Index, length of ED, and complications were retrieved from participants' medical records. Spearman correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to explore the association between length of ED and measures of severity and treatment seeking behavior. RESULTS: There was no significant association between endurance (length of ED) and measures of severity. There was a significant association between length of ED and delays seeking specialized treatment (rs=0.72; p<0.01). Regression indicated that for each month in delay visiting a specialized ED treatment team, the ED duration increased by 0.87 months (F(1,38)=75.93; p<0.01; R2= 0.66). DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that in developing countries, where specialized treatment access is not widespread, defining SEED solely by the length of illness may not be clinically significant, and other criteria (e.g., timely access to evidence-based treatments) should be considered.

Actualizaciones en el manejo intrahospitalario de la anorexia nerviosa: recomendaciones prácticas / An update on inpatient treatment of anorexia nervosa: practical recommendations

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality, especially if it is associated with psychiatric and somatic comorbidity. Medical complications can be multiple and jeopardize the normal development of children and adolescents, even permanently. Although its prevalence is lower compared with other psychiatric disorders, its tendency to chronicity and the severity of its consequences are remarkable. Although outpatient treatment of anorexia is privileged as far as possible, the risks associated with poor response to treatment or lack of adherence of the patient or family, require the possibility of hospitalization at any time of the disease. We searched and analyzed the national and international literature available (especially clinical guidelines) about the indication for hospital treatment in AN and the interventions recognized as necessary and effective during hospitalization. Despite the lack of standardized criteria for hospitalization, the available information converge on the need for a multidisciplinary work by a specialist team, to make family interventions especially in adolescents and tailor treatment according to the individual physical, psychological and social needs.

Antipsicóticos de primera y segunda generación en esquizofrenia: eficacia, efectividad y efecto de la dosis utilizada / First and second generation antipsychotics in schizophrenia: efficacy, effectiveness and effect of the dose used

Después de varias décadas de desarrollo de los fármacos antipsicóticos, la esquizofrenia sigue siendo en gran medida una enfermedad crónica con muchos pacientes que experimentan una mala calidad de vida. En este contexto, la aparición de los llamados antipsicóticos de segunda generación fue recibida con gran entusiasmo. Los clínicos esperaban que los nuevos antipsicóticos causaran no solamente menos efectos secundarios motores que los más antiguos, tal como la clorpromazina, sino también que mejoraran los síntomas y la funcionalidad general de los pacientes. Este artículo, de carácter narrativo, revisa cómo inicialmente la evidencia de un gran número de ensayos controlados aleatorios pareció favorecer muchas de estas suposiciones. Esta visión, sin embargo, no era universal, y algunos investigadores destacaron el potencial efecto del diseño de los estudios en los resultados. Un aspecto importante dice relación con la dosis utilizada de antipsicóticos de primera generación, siendo aquellos ensayos que usaron mayores dosis los que apoyaron el uso de antipsicóticos de segunda generación. Esta controversia se resolvió después de la publicación de tres estudios a gran escala, que incluían pacientes menos seleccionados y que enfocaban los resultados a largo plazo en un entorno clínico más "típico", los cuales no encontraron diferencias significativas entre los dos tipos de antipsicóticos. Desde entonces, las discusiones sobre la elección de los antipsicóticos han girado en torno a otros factores tales como los efectos secundarios, más que en su capacidad para controlar los síntomas.(AU)

After several decades of antipsychotic medication development, schizophrenia has largely remained a chronic disease with many patients experiencing poor quality of life. In this context, the appearance of so-called second generation antipsychotics was received with great enthusiasm. Clinicians hoped that the new antipsychotics would not only cause less motor side effects than older ones such as Chlorpromazine, but also improve patients' symptoms and overall functioning. In this narrative article we review how initially the vidence of a large number of randomized controlled trials appeared to favour many of these claims. This view was not universal though, and some researchers highlighted the potential effect of some design aspects of the trials in the results. A particular concern related to the dose of first generation antipsychotic used, with trials favouring second generation frequently using higher doses. This controversy was resolved after the publication of three large studies, including less selected patients and looking at longer-term outcomes in a more "typical" clinical setting, which failed to find significant differences between the two types of antipsychotics. Since then, discussions about the choice of antipsychotic revolve more around other factors such as side-effects than their capacity to control symptom.(AU)

[Trends in benzodiazepine use in primary care patients]. / Tendencia del uso de benzodiazepinas en una muestra de consultantes en atención primaria.

BACKGROUND: Benzodiazepine use is associated to a risk of abuse of dependency. In Chile benzodiazepine abuse is a public health issue. In an attempt to overcome this problem, several restrictions in their prescription were implemented by the health authority. Despite these measures, inadequate use of benzodiazepines in primary care continues to be frequent. AIM: To study the frequency of benzodiazepine use among primary care patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross sectional survey done during two days, with seven physicians working in public primary care clinics. They applied a structured questionnaire about psychotropic medication use. RESULTS: One hundred eighty eight subjects aged 46.8 +/- 17.5 years, 66% women, were interviewed. Thirty two percent were consuming a psychotropic drug and 82% of these corresponded to benzodiazepines. General practitioners and psychiatrists prescribed the drug to 75% and 13% of subjects, respectively. A higher frequency of benzodiazepine use was observed in women and in urban areas. CONCLUSIONS: Benzodiazepine use continues to be highly prevalent in primary care patients, in spite of the nationwide implementation of controlled prescriptions.

Mortalidad en el Servicio de Neonatología del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile entre 1996 y 1999 / Mortality at neonatology service, Hospital Clínico, Universidad de Chile

Las características de los Servicios de Neonatología pueden ser tan disímiles que las comparaciones entre sí pueden ser inútiles, sin embargo es necesario tener referencias locales para medir el avance en los métodos en uso y al mismo tiempo trabajar en lograr consensos para obtener oportuna información a nivel local y nacional. Se muestra la mortalidad en el Servicio de Neonatología del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile entre los años 1996 y 1999. La información se extrajo desde una base de datos previamente consensuada entre los neonatólogos del Servicio y ordenada de acuerdo a los criterios de Wigglesworth modificados. Se describe la mortalidad por peso de nacimiento, edad gestacional y por grupos de diagnósticos