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Table 3 Family-based treatment for bulimia nervosa

From: Canadian practice guidelines for the treatment of children and adolescents with eating disorders

Certainty assessment

Impact

Certainty

Importance

№ of studies

Study design

Risk of bias

Inconsistency

Indirectness

Imprecision

Other considerations

Remission (assessed with: Abstinence from binge or purge behaviour for 4 weeks) Psychological Symptoms (assessed with: EDE), Depression (assessed with: BDI),

 3

randomised trials

not serious

serious a,b,c

not serious

not serious

none

one RCT (n = 130) compared FBT to CBT for adolescents with BN. FBT group achieved significantly higher remission rates (39% vs. 20%) at end of study. One RCT (n-85) compared FBT to CBT guided self care and found no difference in BP remission (although Binge alone was decreased in the CBT group). One RCT randomized 80 patients to FBT or supportive psychotherapy. 39% in FBT vs. 18% in supportive therapy were in remission at end of treatment; a significant difference.

MODERATE

CRITICAL

not serious

serious a,b,c

not serious

not serious

none

one RCT (n = 130) did not find any differences in EDE score at end of treatment for FBT vs. CBT for adolescents with BN. The other RCT (n = 80) also showed all EDE scores were more improved in the FBT group compared to supportive group.

MODERATE

CRITICAL

not serious

serious a,b,c

not serious

not serious

none

One RCT (n = 130) showed a decrease in depression scores that was greater in the FBT group compared to the CBT group at the end of the study. Another RCT (n = 80) did not show any differences in depression scores between FBT and supportive group.

MODERATE

CRITICAL

Binge Purge Frequency (assessed with: Frequency Scores)

 2

Case Reports

very serious d,e

not serious

not serious

not serious

none

Two case reports of 9 patients in total describe decreases in binge and purge behaviours with FBT pre compared to post.

VERY LOW

CRITICAL

  1. aone of three RCTs did not find a difference at end of treatment
  2. bone RCT found a difference in psychological symptoms and the other did not
  3. cone RCT showed a difference in depression scores and the other did not
  4. dno randomization
  5. e no control condition
  6. Bibliography:
  7. RCTs – Le Grange 2015 [50], Le Grange 2007 [48], Schmidt 2007 [49]
  8. Case Reports - Dodge 1995 [51], LeGrange 2003 [34]