[Termination of inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa]

Dropout is a neglected area of research; patients with anorexia nervosa are a group with high risk for dropout.

1. What are the frequency and type of dropout in disorder-specific, integrated treatment programs for anorexic patients? 2. What are the predictors for dropout?

Analysis of 80 prospectively documented, consecutive treatment episodes of anorexic inpatients, based on multimodal clinical and psychometric parameters.

Twenty percent of patients terminated on their own initiative, often after reaching target weight; 10% were discharged by the treatment team. At least 43% of dropouts continued with some sort of psychotherapy within the 3 months after discharge. Previous dropout was a predictor for dropout in the present episodes. Patients with no comorbidity had a higher risk of dropout. Patients discharged by the team had personality disorders more often. Patients with comorbid depression stayed in treatment.

The form of termination of treatment should be routinely assessed. Previous dropout and comorbidity are indicators of the risk of dropout.