Expert Medical Treatmentfor Extreme Eating Disorders

When Saving a Life is the First Step ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders is the only specialized medical inpatient eating disorder hospital unit in the country. The highly-experienced multi-disciplinary team not only provides the best life-saving medical care but also ensures that the patient’s physical and psychological needs are met. With a singular focus on providing comprehensive medical treatment for extreme eating disorders, ACUTE helps patients take the critical first step on the road to recovery.

Eating Recovery Center (ERC) has partnered with ACUTE to move and expand its treatment center at Denver Health to a new 30- bed unit. This partnership represents the addition of the medical treatment level of care to complete ERC’s fully vertically integrated offering dedicated to the treatment of serious eating disorders at all levels of severity and stages of the illness

ACUTE Provides Unmatched Experience in Preventing and Treating The Refeeding SyndromeDuring nutritional rehabilitation of patients with severe eating disorders, also known as refeeding, serious and potentially fatal complications may occur as a result of a shift in fluids and electrolytes within the body. Expert medical monitoring and specialized dietitian care are crucial in the early refeeding process to prevent the refeeding syndrome and other potentially life-threatening medical complications. Symptoms of this syndrome include weakness, inability to breathe, seizures, mental confusion, cardiac arrest, heart failure, coma and even death.

Who is At Risk for The Refeeding Syndrome?Any patient who meets the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria is at risk for developing the potentially fatal, yet preventable complications of the refeeding syndrome.

ONE or more of the following:

• BMI <16

• Weight loss of >15% in the previous 3-6 months

• Little or no nutritional intake for > 10 days

• Low levels of potassium, phosphorus, or magnesium prior to refeeding

TWO or more of the following:

• BMI <18.5

• Weight loss of >10% in the previous 3-6 months

• Little or no nutritional intake for > 5 days

• History of alcohol abuse, or drugs including insulin, laxatives or diuretics

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidelines

ACUTE.orgACUTE Admissions | 1-877-228-8348

We offer hope when all other medical care has failed.If you or someone you know needs hospitalization for medical complications due to an eating disorder, please contact us immediately at

1-877-228-8348.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Half of all eating disorder cases go undetected during interactions with healthcare systems

• Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

• More than half of anorexia nervosa deaths are due to medical complications.

• The good news is that nearly all medical complications of eating disorders can be treated and reversed with the appropriate care

Medical Complications That Need Specialized Treatment at ACUTE

Who Meets Admissions Criteria for ACUTE?

Severe RestrictingAnorexia Nervosa (AN-R) or ARFID

Severe Purging, In Anorexia Nervosa Purging Sub-type*, or Bulimia Nervosa

• Bradycardia (low heart rate) <40• Cardiac Arrhythmias and heart failure needing continuous heart monitoring • Severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) • Hepatic failure• Refeeding syndrome (a potentially deadly shift of electrolytes

and fluids)• Dysphagia and risk for aspiration pneumonia

• Hypokalemia (low potassium) < 2.8 • Hyponatremia (low sodium) < 129• Severe edema (fluid overload) after purging cessation

(“Pseudo-Bartter Syndrome”) • Severe constipation or atonic (“floppy”) colon from laxative abuse • Volume depletion (dehydration) which may cause syncope

(passing out) • Cardiac arrhythmias from severe electrolyte abnormalities • Seizure from severe alkalosis (acid-base imbalance due to

volume depletion) with serum bicarb > 37

* Patients with Anorexia Nervosa Purging Sub-type may experience all of the complications of both restricting and purging.

ACUTE.orgACUTE Admissions | 1-877-228-8348

40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

IP Psych, Residential, PHP, IOP

AnorexiaDiagnosed

Ideal Body Weight (IBW):Female: 5’0” = 100 lbs (+5 lbs per add’t inch of height)Male: 5’0” = 106 lbs (+6 lbs per add’t inch of height)

IP Psych: Inpatient Psychiatric

PHP: Partial Hospitalization Program

IOP: Intensive Outpatient Program

% IBW

ACUTE

Intended for patients who meet one or more of the following:

• All genders, ages 17 and older who weigh less than 70% of their Ideal Body Weight (IBW), or whose BMI less than 15

• At risk for the potentially deadly refeeding syndrome

• Suffering from severe medical complications of anorexia or bulimia nervosa whether still at home or currently hospitalized in a community hospital

• Need to safely detox from severe laxative, diuretic, or self-induced vomiting prior to inpatient or residential treatment for an eating disorder

• Of the prominent hospitals mentioned in the “US News Top Hospitals List”, 80% choose to refer their most severely ill patients to ACUTE.• ACUTE has successfully treated more than 1,000 patients over the last decade.

ACUTE Offers Proven Track Record of Success