Clinical and psychological features of children and adolescents diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder in a pediatric tertiary care eating disorder program: a descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder first described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) [American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013]. Patients with ARFID do not fear gaining weight or have body image distortions. ARFID involves a persistent disturbance in feeding and eating that results in an inability to meet nutritional and/or energy needs with one of the following: weight loss or failure to achieve appropriate weight gain, nutritional deficiency, dependence on enteral feeding or nutritional supplements and significant interference with psychosocial functioning. To date, studies on patients with ARFID have retrospectively applied the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ARFID to reclassify patients diagnosed with DSM-IV eating disorders. METHODS: A descriptive retrospective chart review was completed on patients less than 18-years diagnosed with ARFID after a comprehensive eating disorder assessment between May 2013 and March 2016. The data collected included demographics, anthropometrics, historical information, clinical features, co-morbid diagnoses, need for inpatient hospitalization and psychometric measures. RESULTS: Three hundred and sixty-nine patients were assessed for an eating disorder between May 2013 and March 2016. Of these, 31 (8.4%) received a DSM-5 diagnosis of ARFID. A full chart review was performed on 28 (90.3%) patients. Weight loss or failure to achieve appropriate weight gain was the reason for diagnosis in 96.4% (27/28). All of our patients had 2 or more physical symptoms at the time of diagnosis and 16 (57.1%) had a co-morbid psychiatric disorder. Twenty (71.4%) reported a specific trigger for their eating disturbance. Admission for inpatient hospitalization occurred in 57.1% (16/28) of patients. Thirteen (46.4%) patients had been previously assessed by another specialist for their eating disturbance. None of the patients had elevated scores on commonly used psychometric tests used to assess eating disorders. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to retrospectively determine the incidence of ARFID in children and adolescents using the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria at assessment. The clinical presentation of patients with ARFID is complex with multiple physical symptoms and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Commonly used pediatric eating disorder psychometric measures are not specific for making a diagnosis of ARFID, and may not be sensitive as assessment tools.

Impact of Adolescent Gender Dysphoria on Treatment Uptake in an Obesity Management Program.

A 13-year-old biological female patient presented with gender dysphoria while receiving treatment for obesity. Body distress and a desired masculine phenotype motivated his engagement with various therapies. We describe body image concerns in an obese adolescent with gender dysphoria to highlight the importance of assessing gender in adolescents.

Pneumothorax in a young man with anorexia nervosa.

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is defined as a pneumothorax that occurs in the absence of an external cause in an individual without underlying generalized lung disease. A number of factors are important and should be carefully considered in the pathogenesis of PSP. This is the first case report of a PSP in a severely malnourished adolescent male with anorexia nervosa (AN) who was involved in excessive physical activity. Clinicians caring for adolescents with AN and vigorous exercise need to be aware of the risk factors associated with the development of a PSP. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:895-898).

Celiac disease presenting as Fever of unknown origin.

Celiac disease (CD) is a common autoimmune enteropathy that occurs, in affected individuals, with exposure to gluten in the diet and improves with removal of dietary gluten. Although CD is readily considered in patients with classical presentations of the disease, atypical manifestations may be the only presenting symptoms. We present a case of CD in a 16-year-old female presenting as fever of unknown origin, which has not been reported previously. The postulated mechanism for fever in CD and the importance of clinicians having a low threshold for considering CD in the differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin and other enigmatic clinical presentations is discussed.

Amphicatalytic polymerization: synthesis of stereomultiblock poly(methyl methacrylate) with diastereospecific ion pairs.

Diastereospecific ion pairs consisting of isospecific transition-metal cations and syndiospecific main-group anions promote what is termed amphicatalytic polymerization of MMA, producing PMMA with isotactic-b-syndiotactic stereomultiblock microstructures.