Dropout in inpatient psychotherapy of anorexia nervosa

Background: Dropout is a neglected area of research; patients with anorexia nervosa are a group with high risk for dropout. Research questions: 1. What are the frequency and type of dropout in disorder-specific, integrated treatment programs for anorexic patients! 2. What are the predictors for dropout! Method:Analysis of 80 prospectively documented, consecutive treatment episodes of anorexic inpatients, based on multimodal clinical and psychometric parameters. Results:Twenty percent of patients terminated on their own initiative, often after reaching target weight; 10% were discharged by the treatment team. At least 43% of dropouts continued with some sort of psychotherapy within the 3 months after discharge. Previous dropout was a predictor for dropout in the present episodes. Patients with no comorbidity had a higher risk of dropout. Patients discharged by the team had personality disorders more often. Patients with comorbid depression stayed in treatment. Conclusions:The form of termination of treatment should be routinely assessed. Previous dropout and comorbidity are indicators of the risk of dropout.