[Comparison of inpatient and day clinic treatment of anorexia nervosa].

OBJECTIVES

Explorative comparison of short term outcomes of day clinic and inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa.

METHODS

N = 13 consecutively admitted day clinic patients (anorexia nervosa; DSM IV) were matched with N = 13 inpatients (variables: age, duration of illness, gender, admission weight, subtype of anorexia nervosa). Results at discharge were compared using defined outcome criteria as well as scores of the SCL-90-R and EDI-2.

RESULTS

After inpatient treatment significantly more patients showed a good outcome (predefined criteria). Effect sizes also pointed to a superiority of inpatient treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

In the initial phase of therapy the structured and holding environment of an inpatient unit may be favourable for severely underweight anorexic patients. The interpretation of these results is limited due to the small sample size.