Q: 19-year-old female is admitted to ICU with dehydration and multiple electrolyte disorder. The Patient was dropped at ER door by her roommate. Patient herself seems to be an unreliable historian. Hospital chart shows only one overnight previous hospitalization for dehydration secondary to vomiting. But chart shows referral for Maudsley family therapy. What is the probable diagnosis of patient's dehydration and electrolyte imbalance?


Answer: Bulimia

Maudsley family therapy is a family based approach first developed at the Maudsley Hospital, London for the treatment of anorexia in bulimia.  It is described as more of a pragmatic psycho-social approach. Treatment is divided into 3 main phases which are further subdivided into many sessions.

• Phase I: Weight restoration
• Phase II: Returning control over eating to the adolescent
• Phase III: Establishing healthy adolescent identity

Reference:

Lock J, le Grange D; Le Grange (2005). "Family-based treatment of eating disorders". The International Journal of Eating Disorders. 37: S64–7; discussion S87–9.