Early Intervention for Eating Disorders Can Lead to Better Outcomes
Eating disorders are serious health conditions that affect a person’s mental and physical health. They can lead to serious medical problems and can be life-threatening. People of all ages, races, genders, body types, and backgrounds can experience eating disorders. In recent years, diagnoses have increased around the world.
Early intervention is associated with better outcomes; however, across Canada, there are differences in how eating disorders are treated and in the criteria used to decide when someone should be admitted to hospital.
In response to these differences, TREKK has developed evidence-based resources to help with the assessment and management of eating disorders.
Latest Knowledge and Best Practices for Assessing and Managing Eating Disorders
TREKK’s Bottom Line Recommendations (BLR) on eating disorders offer a concise summary of best practices and the latest knowledge for frontline clinicians to access anytime. This up-to-date information includes:
- The importance of history and physical examination during the initial assessment of patients
- Suggested investigations when managing patients
- Best practices for managing acute complications
This resource was developed by Dr. Jennifer Turnbull (McGill University Health Centre, Montreal Children’s Hospital), Dr. Roiya Farhan (McGill University, Montreal Children’s Hospital), Dr. Megan Cooney (HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital), and Dr. Holly Agostino (Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University Health Centre), and was launched in 2024.
Healthcare providers can also access TREKK’s Evidence Repository on eating disorders to find a curated list of the best available resources and evidence.
Creating Tools Specific to Emergency Departments
“There are several guidelines available for the management of eating disorders, but none are specific to the emergency department (ED),” says Dr. Jennifer Turnbull, “That’s what makes the TREKK guideline important. The ED is a place where anything can come in, and the cause of symptoms is often undifferentiated.”
Supporting Patients with Disordered Eating to Improve Their Health
In many cases, patients with disordered eating may be missed, as a diagnosis can’t be made based on visual appearance alone, and patients may present to the ED for another reason. These patients have a very sensitive physiology, and it’s important for clinicians to know how to safely diagnose and treat them as a vital first step in helping patients with disordered eating continue their journey to health. This evidence is highlighted throughout TREKK’s BLR on eating disorders.
When healthcare providers begin the initial testing and treatment for disordered eating, there are a few “pitfalls” that may not be commonly known that clinicians should be aware of, as it’s important to avoid them. This reasoning helped guide TREKK when creating these resources to help healthcare providers assess and safely treat these patients. Unfortunately, the rates of disordered eating in pediatric patients are increasing, and the ED may be the first point of entry for these patients.
Providing Evidence-Based Data for Healthcare Providers
TREKK’s resources on eating disorders provide the latest knowledge and best practices for clinicians to access at any time – supporting timely decisions and busy caseloads when pediatric patients present to the Emergency Department with acute medical and psychiatric complications of eating disorders. Healthcare providers can access TREKK’s eating disorders resources, along with our entire collection of evidence-based tools, on the TREKK website anytime.
