14
Assessment
Table 6. Factors Supporting Medical Hospitalization
or Hospitalization on a Specialized Eating
Disorder Unit
Factor Adults
Heart rate <50 bpm
Orthostatic change in
heart rate
Sustained increase of >30 bpm
Blood pressure <90/60 mmHg
Orthostatic blood
pressure
>20 mmHg drop in sBP
Glucose <60 mg/dL
Potassium Hypokalemia
1
Sodium Hyponatremia
1
Phosphate Hypophosphatemia
1
Magnesium Hypomagnesemia
1
Temperature <36° C (<96.8° F)
BMI <15
Rapidity of
weight change
>10% weight loss in 6 months or
>20% weight loss in 1 year
Compensatory behaviors Occur frequently and have either caused serious
physiological consequences or not responded to
treatment at a lower level of care
ECG Prolonged QTc >450 or other significant
ECG abnormalities
Other conditions Acute medical complications of malnutrition
(e.g., seizures, syncope, cardiac failure, pancreatitis)
1
Reference ranges for potassium, sodium, phosphate, and magnesium and numerical
thresholds for values that determine hypokalemia, hyponatremia, hypophosphatemia,
and hypomagnesemia depend upon the clinical laboratory.
Abbreviations: BMI=body mass index; bpm=beats per minute; ECG=electrocardiogram;
mmHg=mm mercury; QTc=corrected QT interval; sBP=systolic blood pressure
