Pjv. Beumont et al., INTENSIVE NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING IN BULIMIA-NERVOSA - A ROLE FOR SUPPLEMENTATION WITH FLUOXETINE, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 31(4), 1997, pp. 514-524
Objective: The aims of the paper are to determine whether nutritional
counselling is associated with an improvement in bulimic symptomatolog
y, whether this improvement is maintained during post-treatment follow
-up, and whether the addition of fluoxetine 3 x 20 mg/day confers addi
tional benefit. Method: Psychological, pharmacological and combined ps
ychopharmacological treatments of bulimia nervosa were reviewed briefl
y. Sixty-seven patients referred to specialist eating disorder service
s who fulfilled strict diagnostic criteria were treated with intensive
nutritional counselling and randomly assigned to either fluoxetine 3
x 20 mg/day or placebo. After a I-week 'wash-out', active treatment wa
s given over 8 weeks, followed by post-treatment interviews at 12 and
20 weeks. Results: Both groups of patients improved significantly duri
ng treatment. In some respects, the fluoxetine group did slightly bett
er as demonstrated by the items 'restraint', 'weight concern' and 'sha
pe concern' (p<0.05 vs p<0.0001) on the Eating Disorder Examination (E
DE). Fluoxetine patients decreased their energy intake and lost a mode
st amount of weight. They went on to regain weight during the follow-u
p period, returning to levels higher than they were initially. These p
atients also appeared more likely to have a recurrence of symptoms, as
shown by the fall in percentage of binge-free patients and by changes
in the EDE. Conclusion: Nutritional counselling is an effective means
of treating bulimia nervosa, with improvement maintained up to 3 mont
hs follow-up. The addition of fluoxetine may confer some benefit durin
g active treatment, but its discontinuation may contribute to a higher
rate of recurrence of symptoms post treatment. Of course, this study
cannot be extrapolated to the efficacy of fluoxetine when used as the
only form of treatment in patients for whom intensive nutritional coun
selling or other structured psychological programs are not available.