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Futility in adolescent anorexia nervosa and the question of withdrawal of care
Author(s) -
Forbes David A
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.14659
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , medicine , psychological intervention , psychiatry , malnutrition , starvation , anorexia , psychotherapist , eating disorders , pediatrics , psychology
Anorexia nervosa is a chronic disorder of children, adolescents and young people typically characterised by self‐starvation and resistance to interventions. Staff dealing with these young people frequently question patient motivations and the ethics of interventions that may be applied against the wishes of patients. The question of withdrawal of care in a subgroup of these patients has been raised. Futility is not an appropriate response to adolescent anorexia nervosa, and treatment withdrawal is not appropriate for a disorder in which most patients can be expected to recover, in which opposition to treatment is a characteristic of the disorder and in which brain dysfunction is precipitated by severe malnutrition.