Presentation

Poster

• Eating Disorder Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One California center observes an astronomical rise. Pediatric Hospital Medicine National Conference, August 2021 The current COVID-19 pandemic has created a global context hypothesized to increase eating disorder (ED) risk due to social restrictions, anxiety caused by continued uncertainty, and a decrease in the availability of usual treatment. This increased risk for ED would be expected to be revealed by an increase in ED admissions since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns, in March 2020. Objectives: To compare the prevalence of admissions to a pediatric service at a single institution for ED before and after the COVID-19 lockdown in California. Secondary comparisons of demographics and comorbidities were reviewed. Methods: This was a retrospective review of ED admissions to a pediatric inpatient team at a single center in Southern California, where patients are medically stabilized prior to transitioning to appropriate ED programs. Patients were divided into three groups of one-year intervals: March 1, 2018-February 28, 2019 (TP1), March 1, 2019-February 29, 2020 (TP2), and March 1, 2020-February 28, 2021 (TP3). California’s lockdown began in March 2020; therefore, time periods were chosen to investigate the data before and after the lockdown. A Poisson model was used to compare number of admissions. Results: 65 patients were identified during the 3-year timeframe. There were 14 total admissions during TP1 (21.5% of admissions), 19 admissions during TP2 (29.23%) and 32 admissions during TP3 (49.23%). During TP3, there was a two-fold increase in the number of admissions (RR=2.29, p<0.01) relative to TP1. The second half of TP3 alone had 23 admissions suggesting that this problem may continue to grow. Secondary review of demographic data did not show difference in age, gender, admission BMI, ED diagnosis, first admission for ED, or comorbidities (psychiatric or medical). The mean and median length of stay decreased over the 3-year study period. In TP3, two patients were COVID+; both recovered without complications and 55.94% of patients in TP3 reported COVID as a stressor leading to ED. Conclusion: There are currently no published studies analyzing the effects of COVID-19 in patients with ED in the USA.  There have been many reports on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents, in particular depression and suicidality. This study shows the prevalence of ED hospitalization has increased as well. As the nation and world grapple with the fallout from the pandemic, the mental health of its citizens will be critical to address. (08/2021)
• Eating Disorder Admissions Skyrocket During the Global Pandemic. Pediatric Hospital Medicine Poster Presentation at the National PHM conference July 2022 Building on prior work, we analyzed the continued demographics and volumes of patients presenting to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital with a diagnosis of an eating disorder from the 2 years prior to the pandemic through Dec 2021. Statistical analysis was applied to show that there were no identified differences in mean age, gender, socioeconomic status, or mean BMI on admission, but that we had experienced greater than a 250% increase in total admissions. (07/2022)
• The Novel Application of Sport and Performance Psychology in Medicine Poster at the APA National Convention, August 4, 2022. Sport and Performance Psychology techniques were used to develop a 3 workshop series taught to MS3 students at Loma Linda University SOM in the week prior to starting clinical rotations in order to assist them with the ability to function at the highest level of their ability in high stress situations. The knowledge of the tools, utilization of the tools, and the impact of their use was tracked serially through their MS3 year.  (08/2022)

Research

• Novel Application of Sport and Performance Psychology in Medicine.  AASP Annual Conference, Ft Worth, TX  Platform Presentation (10/2022)